Balance- A Pokémon Ruby Nuzlocke
by Scoobydoohan
Summary: Inside a forest a child discovers a book that contains the tale of Eris, a young male with a troubled past, a mysterious condition and the weight of the world mounting on his shoulders. With a new threat to the Hoenn Region rising, Eris must balance the life he lived with his new life if he is to succeed without succumbing to darkness. First chapters now with better paragraphing.
1. Prologue

_**A/N:**_ _Hello everyone and welcome to my first proper story. Feel free to leave any constructive criticism you feel would help be a better author and I hope that you enjoy the first tale of many in Eris' life.__**  
**__

**2100: Viridian Forest**

The sun hangs high in the sky as a group of five boys play merrily around the trees of the forest. They hide in the shadows and squeal with delight when they're found. One of the boys is hidden beneath a large patch of leaves, keeping very still as to not get caught. He hears his mother's voice calling to him from the edge of the woods and his face drops. He stands, the leaves cascading off of his shoulders and making a tremendous noise that instantly alerts his friends to his location. They come rushing towards him and he steps into a pool of sunlight that has pierced the leafy canopy.

The light seems to blend into his blonde hair just as his eyes seem to be made of the bark that surrounds him. He bids farewell to his friends and sets off in the direction of his mother's voice, his friends turning away to continue their merriment. However, when the boy steps into a patch of shadow the ground falls away beneath his feet and he tumbles down an earthen slide into a small chamber under a great tree. A hole has been bored through the centre of the tree to allow light into the chamber and illuminate the rough walls and the strange altar that sits in the centre.

The boy approaches the altar and finds sitting in a depression a large metal capsule. He reaches out and grabs hold of the capsule, but it refuses to budge from the altar. Running his fingers over the smooth metal he finds a latch and releases it. Inside the capsule lies a large leather bound book. Heaving it out the boy sits on the floor and opens it, beginning to read.

_To whoever finds this diary, I leave it in the hopes that you do not fall prey to that which I did in my life. It is both a dangerous and important piece of literature and contains within the entirety of my journeys through the various regions of the world, facing danger and adventure with my Pokémon by my side. Now though I am but a shell of the man I once was, powers I know little of having wrought havoc upon my body over the years._

_The Pokémon I once played with and faced my deepest fears with have begun to retreat from human control and return to the wilds. Unfortunately for me, and perhaps now you, It is everlasting and watches from the shadows of everywhere and everywhen. I fear that if the Pokémon have not returned to you by the time you are reading this, It will rise again and consume everything with its wrath. This is the primary reason I leave this diary behind._

_A person cannot face an enemy of which they have no knowledge, and so I implore you to start at the beginning and learn all you can. A friend of mine has imbued the pages with their power, allowing you to view the events first hand. Be warned though. My curse may linger on in these pages and it may call It to you. The more you read the more danger you put yourself in. If you do not wish for a terrible fate close this book and flee the lands where you found it. Eris Doohan- Creator of Discord, Slayer of Men._

The boy's eyes widen at the last line and he starts to close the book, but natural curiosity wins out and he turns to the next page where emblazoned in the centre of the page is a single word.

**BALANCE**


	2. Chapter 1: Part 1- A Journey Begins

*****Beep, Beep, Beep*. An alarm clock incessantly begins to beep in the corner of the room of a quaint forest home. A slightly tanned hand reached out from under the covers and slapped the top of it, stopping the annoying noise. The owner of the hand fully emerged soon afterwards and padded over to the nearby wardrobe, opening the door to reveal rows of identical black trench-coats, shirts and trousers. He reached in, pulled out one set and swiftly donned the clothing. He turned towards the mirror to sort out the mop of hair that sat atop his head before heading downstairs.

This is Eris Doohan, thirteen years old and tall for his age at around 5'7". The blond streaks in his hair from the summer sun were just beginning to leave and were being replaced with much darker browns, almost black in colouration. His nose was simply that. A nose. If someone tried to describe it they would have great difficulty in separating it from anyone else's nose although it had the appearance of being broken a few times, but expertly reset.

The most striking feature though was his eyes, his two different colour eyes of blue and green flecked with grey. They were thin and sharp like a hawk's; seeming to pierce whoever they looked at, yet also deep set, haunted by past experience and a lack of sleep. However, looking deep into those same eyes revealed a youthful and vengeful fire that burnt with an unknown hatred as well as a strange, almost unwelcome or uneasy kindness. He turned away from the mirror and went downstairs.

XXXXXX

"Sir, the latest progress report has come in from Tabitha. I have good news and bad news."  
"You know how much I loathe bad news Igneous. It is fortunate that you are one of the favoured. Give it to me."  
"Tabitha has managed to infiltrate the Devon Corporation and is now one of their head scientists. She's informed us that a courier with some important parts that Devon Corp needs will be coming through Petalburg Woods in a couple of weeks. She believes that we could repurpose them for our machine"  
"And the bad news?"  
"Devon Corp has advanced construction of their submarine by 20% and is closer to uncovering the entrance to the cavern. Tabitha says that they'll have broken through within two months."  
"Get a Grunt to ambush the courier. Make sure it looks like a random mugging. As for the submarine, we'll simply have to delay its departure when the time comes. We can ignore the cavern for the time being. In other news, when will our challenger start?"  
"There has been no word from them recently, though their last report signified that they had succeeded in phase one of the operation."  
"Very well. Report back when you have more information Igneous. For the land!"  
"For the land!"

XXXXXX

"Yes Dad I locked the house up. Mum should be back soon anyway so it shouldn't that much of a problem. Also, we live in the middle of the woods and we know everyone around here. None of them are going to steal anything. No, I can't find Birch. Sorry, _Professor _Birch. Look, I'm going to head to Oldale Town and see if he's there somewhere. Yes I'll be fine. I'll visit when I get to Petalburg okay? Good. Bye." "Urgh, Birch better be in Oldale or I'm going to have some serious words with him."

Eris turned away from the house, his trench-coat flowing slightly in the gentle wind that blew through Littleroot Town. He hoisted his solid black backpack onto his shoulders and set off at a slow jog to Rt.101. Suddenly a scream emanated from somewhere nearby in the forest, Eris turned and began to sprint towards it.

Arriving in a small clearing he noticed a battered briefcase lying on the ground, one latch broken and twisted so that the case is held slightly open. A few yards away a pack of Poochyenas were snarling up a tree, where Professor Birch sat on a high branch quivering with fear. Much of the Poochyenas' fur was matted with mud and being four feet tall on all fours with barred teeth they presented a terrifying sight. One however was slightly larger at four and a half feet tall and it stood at the base of the tree, scratching menacingly at the bark, one eye closed by a vivid scar.

Eris sprinted forward and snatched the briefcase off of the floor, causing it to open fully and three Pokéballs to fall out. Two of them clatter to the ground, the names Roxy and Rick clearly inscribed onto their fronts. The third though opens as it falls and a Mudkip, small in stature at only 3 feet tall, jumped out. Eris knelt down and picked up the Pokéball, reading the name Alexander inscribed on it. He looked at the Mudkip and it nodded to him after smelling the air. Eris smiled and nodded back "You know what to do right? Take out the leader and the rest will flee."  
"Sure thing boss. Just get me in close." 

Eris picked up Alexander and carefully aimed at the pack before hurling the small Pokémon at the tree. Alexander, turning in mid-air, kicked out at the tree and head-butted the back of the large Poochyena. When he landed the leader charged and knocked Alexander back.

"Alexander, get under him and charge into the stomach!" Eris shouted at the small Pokémon. He nodded in reply and readied himself for the Poochyena's next attack. The Poochyena, filled with rage that such a diminutive Pokémon would dare attack it, charged at Alexander, who simply smirked and slid between its paws. The Poochyena's muzzle became a look of surprise before Alexander powered up off the floor and smashed his entire bodyweight into the underside of the wolf Pokémon.

It tried to take a few faltering steps forwards before falling to the ground, whimpering in pain. Eris stepped forwards and grasped its neck, before twisting sharply to the right. An audible crack could be heard throughout the forest and a small scream came from the almost silent professor sitting in the tree. The rest of the pack howled mournfully at the loss of their leader before retreating back into the forest. Alexander's face was incredulous at this action, but Eris simply recalled the small Pokémon into its ball and began to climb the tree towards the gibbering professor.  
"Y-y-you just k-killed it. W-w-why?" he manages to howl between the tears of fear still streaming down his face.

"I had to show the pack who was the dominant one Prof." Eris replied, his face impassive "Now come on, get out of this damn tree".

Eris jumped to the ground and scooped up the other two Pokéballs; Birch following slowly down the trunk soon after. They began the short walk back to Route 101; Birch's shakes and looks at fear subsiding the nearer they got to Littleroot Town. Eris turned to Birch once they got back to the lab and reached into his pocket, producing the three Pokéballs and offering them back to the Professor. He took two, but left Alexander's Pokéball in Eris' outstretched hand.

"He's always been a bit too mild. Maybe you can put some fight in him. Anyway, I don't think it's the best idea to leave him given your condition. Who knows what'll happen?"  
"Hmm. I guess your right Prof. You know, I might just challenge the League. Unlike most people in this region I didn't get that chance. And I get to see how good my father really is." Eris replied, deep in thought "I'll do it. It'll be… fun."  
"Wonderful" Professor Birch boomed, his normal joviality having returned "I'm sure you'll excel, especially with your parents' blood!"  
"I don't judge people by their parents' actions, but by their own. You should too Professor. I'm going to grab my gear and then I'll be off." Eris stated before walking back to his house, emerging a few minutes later with a substantially weightier backpack than he had when he entered and turned away up the route.

Birch watched the boy leave before sighing to himself and extracting a radio from inside his lab coat. "The Slayer's just left. Release the Queen and ready the King for arrival" he said into the transmitter. Without waiting for an answer he returned the radio to his pocket before speaking quietly to himself "I just hope this is over with quickly."


	3. Chapter 1: Part 2- Oldale Town

Eris walked along Route 101, rolling Alexander's Pokéball between his hands, seemingly considering whether or not to speak to the Mudkip. Eventually the ball cracked open and the small fish like being emerged. "You seem nervous boss. What's the issue?" the Mudkip asked.  
"I need to tell you something. I have a condition Alexan-"  
"Alex. Just Alex boss."  
"Sure, so long as you call me Eris instead of boss. We work together, as a team. Don't think of me as your boss, think of me as a teammate." Eris replied in kind "Anyway, I have a condition. Nobody knows what caused it or why it causes what it does, but whenever I catch or keep a Pokémon it becomes bound to me. From there it only gets worse. Any Pokémon under my care don't faint. They die. They can barely leave my side unless they're inside their balls. Because of this I keep my catch rate down to a minimum, only one per route I travel. I'm sorry you had to get me as a trainer Alex."

The pair walked in an uneasy silence from then on, Alex shocked by the information, Eris saddened by the inevitable loss of the journey he'd just embarked on. After a couple of miles Alex broke the silence. "You know bos- Eris, it won't be as bad as you think. I saw what you did to that Poochyena. You're tough, even if you don't know it. We'll make it through this."  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence Alex. We've gone pretty far today. We better rest for the night. We'll be able to make it into Oldale early tomorrow morning so long as nothing gets in the way" Eris told the small Pokémon that walked alongside him.  
"I think that pack of Poochyena have warned all the Pokémon on this route to stay away from us. Explains why we haven't seen anything, so we should be safe from attack tonight as well" Alex told him.

"Help! Help! Please, someone help me!" a voice cried out from somewhere ahead of the pair.  
"No time for rest Alex. We've got work to do" Eris told his partner before recalling him and running in the direction of the cry. Emerging from the cover of the trees into Oldale Town Eris saw a young man of about 25 being pressed up against the wall of the Pokémart by two thugs wielding knives.

"No point callin' for 'elp now. 'Ole town's asleep ain't it" one of them sneered at their quarry.  
"Jus' hand over yer stuff an' we won't 'urt ya too much. 'Urry up now, we don't 'ave all night ya know" the second thug told the quivering man, brandishing his knife in the man's face. Eris calmly strode forwards through the shadows until he was right behind the second thug. With the speed of a snake his hand shot and grasped the thug's wrist before twisting it sharply around. The man screamed in pain as his wrist snapped and he fell to his knees, clutching at the ruined joint. The first thug slashed his knife at Eris who simply stepped inside the swing and delivered a swift jab to the solar plexus, dropping the thug more silently than his companion.

Eris scooped up their two knives and stored them inside of his trench-coat to investigate later before turning to the young man. "Did they take anything from you?" Eris questioned sharply.  
"No, nothing. I'm fortunate you were nearby. They could have killed me!" the young man replied "Please, tell me where I can learn to fight like you" he cried.  
Something in Eris' face changed at this request and he snarled at the man "You do _not _want to be like me." The boy relaxed slightly, before growling at the man "If you're not from around here then I recommend staying at the Pokémon Centre for the night. Otherwise just go home. Strike out for Petalburg in the morning. The gym there should run some self-defence classes." Eris turned away from the man and rounded the corner of the Pokémart, wishing to find a bed for himself.

Unfortunately for him a girl blocked his path. The girl's hair was a much lighter brown than Eris' and a great deal longer too. It stuck out on either side of her head, only tamed by the red bandanna she wore. The image on the front of the bandanna was of a white Pokéball. Lower down she wore a bright red jacket with a white strip across the bottom. The warm climate of Hoenn allowed her to show off her legs and she took the opportunity to its fullest. Her sturdy hiking boots looked well-worn and were once again a vivid red. Around her waist was a yellow satchel, from which she produced a Pokéball.

"You're quite good with your hands, but I want to know if you're as good with your Pokémon. I can see that you're a Trainer, so c'mon, let's battle" the girl cried enthusiastically. Eris sighed knowing that he wouldn't be able to get any rest until daybreak if he didn't satisfy this girl's wishes, so he produced Alex's Pokéball and called him out. The girl looked amazed at the small Mudkip "Oh wow. You must have been to see Professor Birch. These Pokémon are really rare. This is amazing really. I was just about to send out my Treecko. I thought no one else would have one of its friends." The girl sent out her own Pokémon, a wood gecko creature that stood at four feet tall.

Eris yawned while gesturing at Alex to go ahead and attack the being. Alex charged straight at the Treecko and threw his whole body weight into the tackle. The Treecko went flying backwards and hit the ground hard. The girl rushed over to her Pokémon and checked the damage. "You managed to knock her out in just one hit! Your Mudkip has some serious power" the girl commented "I'm May by the way. I think that we should be friends. Then we can be rivals on our journey to complete the League!"

Eris thought the girl, May, was much too excitable for the time of night and became instantly suspicious, though he also thought the lack of sleep he'd been getting was affecting his paranoia and decided to let the matter go. Somehow he found the strength to talk to May "I don't make friends, only enemies. And you don't want to be my enemy. You saw what happened to those thugs." Eris recalled Alex and pushed past May, took two more faltering steps and collapsed to the ground. May looked at the body on the floor and ran off towards the Pokémon Centre, returning a moment later with Nurse Joy. Together they lifted the limp body off of the floor and carried it to the Pokémon Centre and a comfortable bed.


	4. Chapter 1: Part 3- A New Teammate

"Igneous, why do you bother be at this late hour? I have an important meeting in the morning. Your information better be useful."  
"I would not bother you if it was not Sir. It regards the Slayer."  
"The Slayer you say? Well then, I must say I am intrigued. What have we learnt then Igneous?"  
"The boy has been sleeping poorly recently. It originally didn't seem to affect his battle prowess, but afterwards he collapsed from exhaustion. The Queen also reports that he seemed wary of her. We'll have to make sure he doesn't begin to suspect a link between us."  
"Relax my friend. Currently the boy does not even know we exist. He won't suspect a thing. As for his lack of sleep, we can only hope the effects last until we have to face him. Now, Igneous, leave me. I need to rest"  
"Of course Sir. I wish you all the luck with your meeting tomorrow."

XXXXXX

Eris awoke once again to the dawn light streaming through the windows, first noticing his trench-coat thrown over the back of a nearby chair and then noticing the occupant of the chair. May. It appeared that she'd decided to spend the night watching over him, though eventually sleep had claimed her as well. Eris blinked the sleep out of his eyes and rose quietly, retrieving his trench-coat and slipping out of the room without disturbing the girl. He'd almost made it out the door when he heard a voice call his name.

He turned his head and saw Nurse Joy beckoning him over. "Professor Birch sent these for you earlier. He said it was essential you got them as soon as possible" the Nurse said holding out a small parcel. Eris reached inside his jacket and produced one of the knives he'd obtained the previous night, using it to split the parcel open on the desk. Inside is five Pokéballs, a strange machine with a note attached and a couple of Potions. Eris placed the former and latter into their respective pockets in his bag before reading the note.

_Eris, this machine is a Pokédex, modelled on the one created by Professor Oak. I would ask you to use it to help me with my research, but given your condition I don't think it's the best idea. However, it has been updated with all the current information we have on Hoenn Pokemon will be automatically updated whenever we discover something new. I hope it will be of use to you on your journey. - G. Birch._

Eris finished the note picked up the machine, turning it over in his hand before pressing a button on the side of it. The front cover flipped open as the machine engaged and text scrolled up the screen too fast to be read before an interface menu appeared. After flicking through the few options there were available to him, Eris nodded to himself and turned the Pokédex off before pocketing it. Returning the knife on the desk to an inside pocket Eris left the building, fully intending to head for Petalburg as soon as he'd finished up business on Rt.101.

The sun was bright even in the early morning, though Eris was used to the intensity and greater heat levels thanks to his upbringing. He pulled out Alex's Pokéball from its specialised pocket and sent out the Mudkip, kneeling to talk to it properly "Alright Alex, Birch has sent me some Pokéballs, so we're going to try and catch something on this route. I already know you have a lot of power, but you'll need to rein it in if we want to get any more team members" Eris told the fish Pokémon.  
"Sure thing. One question though. Last night you said that you don't make friends. Does that mean I'm not your friend Eris?" the Mudkip said in return, a look of worry on its face.  
"Of course we aren't friends Alex." The Mudkip's face fell even more at these words, but Eris had not finished speaking "We're partners. We fight to the end, together, and I wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice myself to make sure you get out alive. You're more than a friend. Much, much more." The Mudkip looked up at his young trainer and saw the fire in his eyes once more, and his face split into a grin at the confidence Eris exuded.

The pair walked a little further until they could see the long grass that sparsely covered the short route between the two towns and turned to each other, coming to an unspoken agreement with a single look. Alex ran into the grass and emerged a few moments later chasing a raccoon-esque Pokémon even smaller than himself. At only two feet tall the quadruped was the smallest creature Eris had ever seen. The small raccoon charged straight at Eris, leaping onto him and scrabbling for purchase on his coat.

Eris prised the Pokémon off held it in front of his face, observing it properly for the first time. The zigzag patterns on its fur were constructed of cream and brown, and it felt hard and bristly. The creature yawned and Eris noted the two pointed teeth in its lower jaw. When it was finished he took in the face of the raccoon. The pointed ears were twitching constantly in the direction of Alex, listening for the slightest movement that could be interpreted as another attack.

The black mask across its face reminded Eris of a thief's mask and as he pulled a Pokéball out of his coat he decided that would be its name. Thief. The raccoon went willingly into the ball and was eager to investigate its new partner upon re-emergence, snuffling all around Alex to learn as much as possible about him. Eris pulled out his Pokédex in order to learn a little more about his new teammate.

_Zigzagoon- The Tiny Raccoon Pokémon. These Pokémon restlessly wander everywhere they go. They do this because of high natural curiosity and as such it becomes interested in everything it sees. They will rub their backs on trees to mark their territory, and quite often play dead in an attempt to fool predators. They live on average for 5 years and can grow to be around 5 feet tall and 3 feet long. This particular specimen is female._

Eris smiled to himself as he looked over to where Thief was accosting Alex. He recalled them both and went back to Oldale Town in order to reach Route 102. Before he could get there however he was stopped as a golden blur whipped past him, soon followed by a bumbling man carrying a heavy net screaming "Out of the way! Get out of the way! I need to catch that Zigzagoon!"  
Eris raised a quizzical eyebrow at this behaviour and decided to follow the man with the net, while opening his Pokédex and searching for 'Golden Zigzagoon'. The machine quickly provided an answer for him.

_A golden Zigzagoon does not exist. However, there have been documented cases of Zigzagoons having golden fur instead of brown. These Pokémon, and others like them who possess differing colouration to the rest of their species, are known by Pokémon researchers as 'Shiny Pokemon'. Extensive research conducted into their genetic makeup has revealed that a rare mutation in the DNA of a Pokémon can cause its natural colouration to change. Those species that live solitary lives are not affected by this, but any species who display pack or family like behaviour ostracise the mutated Pokémon and leave it to fend for itself. Ancient people believed they had special abilities or powers and they are nowadays highly prized by collectors and hunters, who sell them to the highest bidder._

Eris growled at the last part and increased his speed after the man, easily catching up with him. Pretending to stumble over a nearby tree root Eris went crashing into the man and knocked him to the ground. Brushing dirt off of his coat and trousers, Eris turned to the other man and helped him up much to his displeasure.  
"What do you think you're doing? Now that rare Zigzagoon has got away and I'm never going to catch it" the man complained.  
"I'm so sorry" Eris lied "I was just out jogging and I didn't see that root. I tripped and went into the back of you. Tell you what, if you give me your number I'll keep searching around here and if I catch it I'll give it to you. How about that?"  
"I suppose that would be adequate payment for losing me my prize. Alright, I'll agree to that. But I warn you boy, if you try to double-cross me I'll report you for stealing. What's your name?" the man questioned.

"Brendan. Brendan Birch" Eris replied. He didn't even know if Birch had a son, let alone one called Brendan. He just hoped the collector didn't know the Professor very well. The collector looked at him a little longer, before seeming to accept the lie, handed him a slip of paper with a number and left the area. Eris breathed a sigh of relief and ventured further up the route. The sun was at its zenith by this point, and Eris was starting to feel the heat. He moved into the shade to avoid the worst of it when he saw it. A flash of gold. He plunged into the trees and began the search for the elusive Zigzagoon.


	5. Chapter 1: Part 4- Route 102

The sun was beginning to set by the time Eris emerged from the forest, still empty handed. He pulled his sleeping bag out of his pack and readied it on the ground for the night. Just before he climbed in he stood sharply up, knowing what he had to do. He obtained some twigs from within the forest and some rope from his backpack. Obtaining some berries from a nearby tree he created a simple snare and settled down to wait. After a couple of hours and scaring a lot of Pokémon away from his snare, Eris began to grow tired. Forcing himself to stay awake for another hour, he was met only with the rapidly fading light and a growling stomach.

Standing to relieve his muscles of the cramp that they'd gained from his long vigil, he began to stretch when a short, sharp snap was heard. His head whirled round to the snare and he was rewarded with the sight of the shiny Zigzagoon inside. Eris reached into his coat and produced Thief's Pokéball, sending her out to weaken the other Zigzagoon. Before Eris was able to issue any orders, the Zigzagoon's thrashing allowed it to break free of the trap and throw its body weight at Thief. Thief, believing the fight to be playful, threw her own body weight back, knocking the shiny Zigzagoon down.

Before it could rise Thief attacked it again, pushing it back into the ground, and it could do nothing but growl at Thief. Eris noticed that it was weakened and took the opportunity to throw a Pokéball at it. The Zigzagoon was too weak to even attempt to break free and was quickly trapped within the capsule. Eris checked his Pokédex once again and learnt that his new capture was also female. He elected to name her Aurelia and took her back to the Pokémon Centre to be healed.

The following morning Eris struck out for Route 102 with his three Pokémon by his side. The trail was a long one and would probably take a few days to cross. The group of four stepped out onto the route and began the long walk to Petalburg City, where Norman awaited his son. About 10 miles down the trail Eris' phone rang. "Hello. Who wants me now? Ah, Dad. Yeah, sure, I'm on 102 now. Still a few days away. Probably going to find some other trainers, camp with them for a night or two. Quick question. Have you got my Trainer's Licence? Because I couldn't find it at the house. I know you put me down for one at birth but nothing's turned up recently. Oh they shipped it to you. Well that's great isn't it? Can you get a courier to bring it down to me? Uh huh. Short kid, green hair, timid with a Zigzagoon. Got it. Wait, you want me to do what? Is he really that bad? Wow, fuck, okay then. I'll do what I can. I'll er, see you in a couple days then. See ya."

Eris hung up and returned the phone to his breast pocket before turning to his Pokémon "Alright guys, we're going to have to find some Trainers, probably beat them in a battle if we want to camp with them. Alex, bring Thief and Aurelia up to speed on how things work around here. You two listen closely to Alex, it's important. I'm going to see if I can find anyone willing to take us in for a couple of days." The group continued along the path, Eris constantly alert for any sign of other Trainer's, Alex informing Aurelia and Thief on the dangers of their new life.

Alex finished explaining pretty quickly, so Eris told him and the Zigzagoons to fight some wild Pokémon to get some experience, but not stray too far. Before they could though Eris stopped abruptly and turned towards the treeline. A Youngster stood just in the shade, a Pokéball clutched in his right hand.

Eris called out to him "Hey, kid, you got a camp set up nearby?"  
"So what if I do. What's it to you?" the kid sneered back "I doubt you could even defeat me, and I'm the weakest of us."  
"Alright kid, you think you're so good then battle me. If I win you let me into your camp." Eris shot back.  
"And what if I win?" the Youngster asked "What do I get?"  
"If you win you won't have to deal with me anymore. And I'll pay you. Sound good?"  
"Sure thing. This is gonna be easy" the Youngster replied "I've only got one Pokemon, my Zigzagoon, so you'll have to use only one."

Eris looked over to his three Pokémon, thinking which one he should use. He thought Alex was the obvious choice, but decided to match the Youngster and selected Thief to fight his Zigzagoon with.  
"Thief, don't give him a chance! Charge!" Eris cried. The small raccoon enthusiastically followed the order, running at a terrific speed towards the Youngster's Pokémon who was knocked backwards.  
"Grr. Ziggy, use Tail Whip. Lower his defence for a big attack" the Youngster cried at his Zigzagoon. It spun around and waved its tail at Thief. Thinking it to be a playful gesture, Thief barked back and was unprepared for the tackle that quickly followed. Thief somersaulted back from the force of the attack and came to a stop at Eris' feet.

"Come on Thief. We've got to win this. Run straight at that Zigzagoon while growling at it. Try to scare it before hitting it hard." Eris told the small Pokémon lying at his feet. It rose to all fours and shook itself off. She opened her mouth, bared her teeth and growled low in her throat before rushing at her opponent. It whimpered at the sight of Thief charging at it and was unprepared for the head-butt that Thief delivered, sending it crashing to the ground. It tried to rise but was too weak to do so. It fell back to ground, unconscious, and the Youngster ran over to it. "Ziggy!" he cried "Are you alright?" The Zigzagoon faintly stirred and the boy seemed satisfied. He scooped his Pokémon off of the floor and came over to Eris, who had recalled Thief to rest.


	6. Chapter 1: Part 5- A Haunted Past

"Looks like you won. I didn't realise your Pokémon would be so strong" the boy remarked, before pulling out a yellowish oval shaped device. He flipped open the lid of the machine and stared intently at the screen before putting it up top his ear. "Hello Tiana. There's going to be someone new joining us for a little bit. He just beat me and Ziggy. He's dressed all in black, got a trench-coat and backpack. Looks like a shadow a lot of the time. I'll be back tomorrow, got to go get Ziggy healed. Bye." The kid closed the lid of his device and spoke again to Eris "All you need to do is go north about a kilometre. Tiana will hopefully recognise you. If you somehow get lost just wait until they light a fire and follow the smoke."  
"Thank you. You battled well. I hope you make it back to the Pokémon Centre safely" Eris told the child "Perhaps we will meet again and I can see how much better you will have gotten. Good bye." Eris walked past the Youngster and into the treeline, vanishing from sight rapidly once under the thick coverage of leaves. The Youngster turned away, cradling his barely conscious Pokémon, and began the long walk back to the Pokémon Centre.

XXXXXX

"Igneous, I have tragic news. This morning I was dragged from my meeting and learned that all of my scientists had died in a terrible accident. Forensic teams have been crawling all over the lab since this morning. They found nothing suspicious. It simply seems that my team were attempting to create a new formula that was more effective that our current one. Unfortunately two of the components reacted… poorly, and were spectacularly volatile. The resulting explosion severed some gas lines, which only added to the destruction. So now, Igneous, I need a new team of scientists. Where am I going to find someone willing at such short notice?"  
"I understand Sir. I will locate suitable people at once."  
"Thank you Igneous. You are always most helpful. I will be running interviews tomorrow. Please have them prepped by then."  
"Of course Sir."

XXXXXX

Eris walked in silence through the forest, having returned all his Pokémon to their balls, and dwelled on the long journey that lay ahead of him. He really wished he had his motorcycle back. Thinking of his past he drew one of the knives out of his trench-coat and absent-mindedly touched a spot on his lower back while expertly turning the knife over in his left hand, running it around and through his fingers like water. Suddenly it stopped moving, and a look of intense rage came across Eris' face. The knife flew from his hand and buried itself up the hilt in a nearby tree. Eris, breathing heavily, stared at the tree for a minute before turning and running blindly into the forest. As he tore through the undergrowth he extracted the second knife and flung it to the floor. Tears blurred his vision as he continued to run further from the two blades. He stumbled to a halt and collapsed to the floor, his body wracked with sobs. A voice, deep and gravely, spoke in his mind "_Only the weak cry. Only cowards run from their problems. You aren't ever going to be anything if you never face your problems!"  
_"Shut up!" Eris screamed into the green "Just shut up! You can't exist! I faced my problems and I killed you! I fucking killed you!"  
"_I was your father boy! And you killed me. How does that make you feel? What about everyone else you've killed to get where you are? Did it make you feel good to take their lives away from them? All those innocents with so much to live for; all those funerals caused by your hand. It matters not that you don't have a weapon anymore, because _you _are a weapon. My_ _weapon. Forged in blood and cooled in grief. You are my legacy!"  
_"You are nothing to me! You hear me. Nothing! You can't hurt me anymore, can't make me do your work. Every step I take is a step further away from you and the lie I lived."  
_" Is it though? Does the world work like that? I know your philosophy boy. The bad are harmed, the evil killed. But are you sure that every evil life you take puts you a step closer to the light? Or does it drag you further into the dark?" _The voice faded away at those words, leaving Eris alone once again. His sobs carried on until sleep claimed him, bringing with it uneasy dreams of the past.

XXXXXX

The shadows in the small room were oppressive, the heat even more so. A low oak table sat in the centre of the room surrounded by five figures dressed in black who were staring intently at the maps that covered every inch of the surface and listening to the words of a chubby man who took up an entire side of the table.

Pointing to the two people directly opposite him; one a tall thickset male with no hair on his head and a thick blonde beard with hazel eyes, the other a shapely woman of above average height sporting a deep red pixie cut and eyes that glittered like ice in the low light, he said "Cobra and Coral, you two are going to go in hard and fast when the doors are opened. No bullets are to be fired when you're in there. Silent kills only. Rendezvous at the security centre." He tapped the map to emphasise the point, and the two agents nodded in agreement both being masters of assassination.

Next he turned to the two figures on his right. The two were twins, their black fringes falling in the exact same way across their faces and covering unforgiving grey eyes that seemed luminous in comparison to their skin. The only way to tell them apart naturally was to watch them work. One was a master craftsman, creating elaborate traps, weapons of death and destruction, computer viruses that could rip apart an unwary system in seconds. It was often the case that if it was conceivable, Alpha could build it.

His twin, Omega, was the opposite in every way. Anything his brother built he could take apart as skilfully as his brother had made it. They even spent their spare time building and destroying objects to see if they could outwit the other. Destruction of his brother's constructs wasn't Omega's only skill however. His greatest trait lay in his ability to use his brother's weapons to their fullest extent, mastering them far quicker than anyone else. He revelled particularly in pyrotechnics and this was the skill he was most often used for.

To these two the fat man said "We need explosives that can level the building quickly while making it look like an accident. They need to be ready and in place three days before infiltration. One of their security guards recently _retired _and I've signed you up for the interview Omega. Make sure to impress them."

Finally the man turned to the figure on his left, the shortest of the group. Eris. Aged only nine years old, he was as lethal with his sword, Soul Eater, as with modern conventional weaponry. Some said that the blade had been forged by a demon and gifted to the child at birth. In truth the weapon had been painstakingly created by a master swordsmith, who was brutally cut down with the blade as soon as it was finished.

The child stood stock still with the short sword strapped to his back, and listened carefully to the words of the man who knew not to talk down to the boy. "The night before the operation we're going to fly you over the target area. HALO jump onto the roof and lie low until the morning. Infiltrate the complex and make your way to the security centre to override the door control and let Cobra and Coral in." The man was about to continue when a light voice interrupted.  
"Why do we need the kid for this particular operation?" Cobra asked expecting an answer from the fat man, but received one from Eris instead.

"The day of the operation is bring your child to work day at the lab" he told her "Not only will I be able to use it as an excuse if I'm seen but it also means that we can have hostages to persuade our target with if needs be." Cobra nodded her acceptance of the explanation and gestured for their leader to continue.

"When the three of you have rendezvoused at the security centre you will need to obtain an ID card from one of Doctor Clarke's personnel, as the target area is on a separate system to the rest of the system. Once you're inside do whatever you need to to coerce Clarke into coming with you. From there make it to the roof to meet up with Omega and get the hell out of there in the chopper. When you're three klicks out, blow the place to shit Omega. I want nothing left of it by the time the cops get there." The man folded up the maps and notes that littered the table, placing them into a briefcase extracted from under the table. Before the group left the room he spoke "Operation Psychic Breaker takes place in two weeks. Don't fail."

A group 'Affirmative' rose from the five people, who left the room, emerging into the burning heat of the day, then went their separate ways for two weeks.


	7. Chapter 1: Part 6- Seedot

Awakening on the cold hard ground was never a pleasant feeling, and it reminded Eris all too much of when he was younger after having been knocked down by his superior's rage. He pulled himself into a sitting position and squinted into the darkness of the forest. Realising that he wouldn't see anything if he stayed there and attempting to go anywhere could simply get him more lost, he moved towards one of the trees and swung himself up into the branches. Climbing to the apex of the tree he emerged into the cool night air. He stared at the sky for a few moments, wondering what cosmic deity had decided he should be forced to live like he had.

He shook his head again and tried to figure out where the camp the Youngster had told him about was. Scanning the horizon revealed nothing interesting apart from the lights of the city of Rustboro, home of the first Gym Leader he'd have to face. Turning away from the lights he saw the more rustic Petalburg City to the west, perhaps another day's travel if he moved quickly. He continued to rotate atop the tree and faced southwards. There he saw a thin flickering light and slight wisps rising from it. He made note of its position, climbed back down the tree and set off towards where he'd seen the light, occasionally climbing up other trees and altering his travel accordingly.

After about half an hour of navigating through the near total darkness of the forest Eris saw the feeble light on a nearby trunk. Increasing his pace he arrived in a small clearing, in the centre of which sat a small fire on the verge of being extinguished.

Avoiding stepping on the other occupants of the camp he crossed over to the fire and picked up some of the wood from the pile that lay besides it. Within minutes he'd stoked the flames back up to a nice height and they began to warm him. He sat his pack down next to him and retrieved some berries and nuts from inside. Wrapping the berries in tin foil he carefully placed them at the edge of the fire to cook before eating the nuts raw. He sat like that for roughly an hour, simply staring deeply into the flames and adding wood to the fire when he needed to. His mind turned once again to his journey, and he couldn't help but think of the consequences if something went wrong.

As he stared into the crimson heart of the fire, he saw not fire, but blood yet to be spilt. He leant closer to the flames, almost as though to throw himself in, but then moved suddenly back. He'd heard a thump nearby. He stood, retrieving Aurelia's Pokéball from his pocket, and moved away from his vigil at the fireside, back into the darkness of the forest. He scanned the floor with his eyes, but nothing moved. He swept his head from side to side before a small movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Slowly he turned his head towards what he thought had moved, a large acorn that sat innocuously at the base of the tree.

As he watched the acorn it twitched twice and then, much to his surprise, stood up on two stumpy feet. Eris sent Aurelia out to make sure the Pokémon didn't run away and then pulled out his Pokédex to investigate the strange being.

_Seedot- The Acorn Pokémon. Seedot's attach themselves to tree branches using the top of their heads. When it is doing this it becomes indistinguishable from an acorn or nut. Using the stalk it will extract moisture from the tree for nourishment, and needs no other food. The more water it drinks the glossier its body will become, and it will also polish its body with leaves when it is on the ground. Often a colony of Seedot is led by the one with the glossiest body. When it is full of water it detaches itself from the tree and falls to the ground with an audible thump. It will only detach from its tree for this reason, remaining stubbornly attached even when being feasted on by a predator. Seedot can be quite mischievous and will move suddenly to scare other Pokémon. This specimen is female._

Eris looked once again at the acorn Pokémon and then at Aurelia before flicking his head in the direction of the Seedot. Aurelia understood and tackled the creature to the ground. It rolled around for a couple of seconds and then began to glow bright red. Aurelia moved to tackle it again, but Eris stopped her. "It's using Bide. We shouldn't attack it while it's like this. Just Growl at it a couple of times." When the Seedot stood back up its red glow was slightly brighter, though not by much. Aurelia growled at it in an attempt to make it back down, but it steadfastly refused.

It tried to release energy, but the lack of attacking it meant that it had nothing to retaliate with. Bide worked on the principle of storing the force of any attacks that hit the user, and then unleashing that force combined with the energy of the user. Typically the power this force had was roughly twice that of the attacks, but if the user hadn't been attacked at all then no energy was released. The Seedot looked bewildered that its attack hadn't done anything and Aurelia took the opportunity to tackle it again. It appeared to grow angry at the fact that it kept being attacked, and it hardened its outer shell just as Eris threw a Pokéball at it.

The Seedot was too surprised to react and was quickly trapped within the ball. Electing to name her Macadamia, Eris scooped up the ball and walked back to the fire with Aurelia at his heels. Sending out Thief and Alex as well he recovered the berries from their place and let the three Pokémon feast on them, also extracting a few apples for them to eat and a bottle of water that he poured into a bowl. Taking a sip of the water and biting deeply into his apple, he savoured the juice that was released. He looked once again to the sky and saw that the moon had shifted almost completely out of sight. He stood and looked to the east, where he noted the slight paling of the sky. He located the water bucket and doused the flames, covering the area in a strange mixture of silver moonlight and the pearl of dawn, and continued his silent unseeing vigil.

The others in the camp rose shortly after eight, and were wholly shocked to see Eris sitting next to the fire pit. There were three of them, two males and a female, in the camp and the two males began to prepare breakfast while the female, Tiana, who seemed to be the de facto leader of the group, came to talk to him.

"We expected you yesterday afternoon. What happened to delay you so much?" she questioned.  
"It's not important. I just got a little waylaid, that's all" Eris told her "Anyway, are you a roaming group or do you just stay around here?"  
"We tend to stick to what we know. Occasionally we'll head off into Petalburg Woods but it's unlikely. Feel free to stay for breakfast though. Rick and Allen are great cooks." Eris looked across to where the two boys were standing; one tending something in the flames, the other spreading what looked like honey onto a slice of bread.

Breakfast turned out to be honey spread over bread and then toasted in the fire. Despite being a small meal Eris felt it was quite filling, and was unable to eat more than three slices. He thanked the three other Trainers before getting his bearings, and setting off to the west, where Petalburg City and his father awaited him.

Back on the well-trodden path Eris opened up Macadamia's Pokéball and carried the large wooden being on his shoulder. He also sent out his other three Pokémon and made sure they were all introduced before talking to them. "Alex, Thief, Aurelia; Macadamia isn't the strongest of Pokémon right now and doesn't know too many moves. I want you three to battle some wild Pokémon around here and maybe she'll learn something new." The three Pokémon nodded their assent and ran into the long grass that surrounded Eris.

"Thief, Aurelia, over here! I've found a group of Seedot" Alex called from Eris' left. Thief and Aurelia sprinted out of the grass to his right and towards Alex, Eris swiftly following, though making sure that Macadamia didn't fall off of his shoulder. "Okay Macadamia, watch the other Seedot carefully. If one of them does something you don't recognise then tell me" Eris instructed the Acorn Pokémon. As they watched the two Zigzagoons and Mudkip attack the large group of Seedot Eris noticed that the Pokémon on his shoulder staring intently at one of the Seedot in the back of the group, who appeared to be swelling to about four times its normal size quite rapidly.

Eris noticed the danger quickly "Thief, Aurelia, Alex, attack the one in the back! It's using Growth. If you don't take it out quickly it'll overwhelm you!" he shouted to his three Pokémon, who quickly reacted to the new knowledge by rushing through the horde and targeting the now giant Seedot directly. It blundered around the area, kicking away the other Seedot as it tried to attack its three aggressors. The three Pokémon seemed tiny in comparison to the titan of wood that stomped around in an attempt to crush them. Eris realised that attacking the creature at the bottom wouldn't achieve anything, and called out to his Mudkip "Alex, get on its head. Maybe if you can fill it with water we can drop it." Alex looked at him quizzically "What are you talking about Eris? I can't just make water you know."

"Well find a pond then and store some internally!" Eris snapped at him, recalling Thief and Aurelia back into their balls to stop them being hurt. He grabbed Macadamia and hung her on a tree to eat while he ran towards Alex, who was still dancing around the feet of the giant Seedot. He scooped him up off the floor and ran with him to one of the trees. Using the trunk as a springboard and vaulting up into the upper branches he began to jump from tree to tree, trying to find a water source for Alex to use.

Alighting on top of one of the taller trees he was rewarded by Alex crying "Pond! Seven o'clock." Eris turned to where Alex was indicating and saw the water far below him. He plucked a branch off of the tree, hoped the pond was deep, and jumped. During the descent he flung the branch he'd removed at the water to break the surface tension and plunged in shortly afterwards. He quickly swam back to the top and climbed out, joined moments later by Alex who now had a satisfied look on his face, as if he'd found something he didn't know he'd been missing all his life. Eris stuck out his arm and Alex ran up it, onto his shoulder, before running back towards the now rampaging Seedot.

As he neared the creature he held his arm out again for Alex to balance on. When he was there Eris flung him at the Seedot. Alex flew through the air and landed atop the wooden monstrosity that towered above them. He ran across the curved surface until he reached the stalk of the Seedot. Accessing his internal water supply, Alex breathed deeply before expelling a huge amount of water from his mouth. The stream connected with the stalk and began vanishing down it. The Seedot that the stalk topped started to swell more than it already had done. Eventually the Seedot had grown to six times it regular size and was stumbling around without any control. It walked into a tree and tripped, the weight of its gargantuan form dragging it to the ground. Alex jumped off just as the colossus hit the ground and split down the centre. The light in its eyes died as the water and nutrients it had amassed spilled out of the crack that bisected the being.

Eris retrieved Alex and went over to the tree that he'd hung Macadamia in earlier. "So do you think that you could use Growth now?" Eris asked the much smaller Seedot as he put her onto his shoulder.

"Definitely! Just watch me" the Seedot exclaimed before concentrating her power and growing slightly bigger and weighing down Eris' shoulder a little more. Eris smiled at her, returned her to her ball and continued along the route, leaving the wooden titan behind him. Looking at his watch Eris noted that he wouldn't make it to Petalburg at his current pace until the day after, so he decided to speed up. A few hours of running later brought the city within sight and he arrived soon afterwards. The streets were bustling, many of them headed away from the Pokémon Gym that resided in the centre of the city. Moving against the crowd was often hard work, but Eris managed to do it easily using his training.

The Gym, a large pure white building, dominated the central district of the city. There were only two pieces of decoration on it; one was a portrait of Norman, Eris' father, and his Slaking, whereas the other was a simple board that listed the names of those who had bested Norman. Eris eased the door open and entered the foyer of the Gym. Seeing nobody around he ventured through the dojo like rooms until he arrived at Norman's room, where his father was conversing with a green haired child, and greeted him. His father rose from his position on the floor and crossed the room followed by the child. "Eris" his father spoke "It is good to see that you're finally here. This is the child I was telling you about, Wally. I have gifted him use of a Zigzagoon to catch his first Pokémon with. I wish you to support him in this endeavour."

"I'll do it Dad. Might as well help someone else start their own Pokémon journey. C'mon Wally. Let's go to Route 102 and see what you can find" Eris replied as he walked out, beckoning for Wally to follow. They reached the route quickly enough, and Wally plunged straight into the long grass, hoping to flush a Pokémon out quickly so he could return to the crowded safety of the city. "Erm, Eris. I think I've found something. I need a little help over here." Eris walked towards the timid boy and looked over his shoulder to the Pokémon he'd found. The small green headed, twin horned Pokémon wore what seemed to be a simple white gown, though it could have easily been part of its body. Eris opened his Pokédex and scanned the creature.

_Ralts- The Feeling Pokémon. Ralts use their two horns to detect the emotions of other people and Pokémon around them. It will only rarely appear in front of people, and then only those with positive dispositions. It will display little control over its psychic abilities at a young age, and often struggles with its sensitive empathy. A young Ralts will strongly feel the emotions anyone or anything in its surroundings is feeling, and will often base their personality on these feelings. Ralts also distribute their own emotions, imprinting them onto others. This can lead to Ralts being used in hospitals in order to cheer patients up. This specimen is male._

"Okay Wally. Just send out the Zigzagoon and tell it to tackle the Ralts until it seems weak. Then throw the Pokéball. It's simple really" Eris told the boy. He stepped back as Wally sent out Norman's Zigzagoon and proceeded to tell it to tackle the Ralts, which put up no fight bar growling at the Zigzagoon. The ball that Wally threw sailed straight at it and caught it without incident. Wally grabbed the ball of the floor "Look Eris, I managed to catch a Pokémon!"  
"That's great Wally. Now let's get back to Petalburg. I need to talk to my Dad and get some sleep."


	8. Chapter 1: Part 7- Joe

Eris walked on his own back to the Gym, having left Wally to get to know his new Pokémon, to return the Zigzagoon and to talk to his father about the upcoming challenges. He entered into the foyer of the Gym and saw his father waiting for him.  
"Hello Eris. How did it go with Wally?" his father asked him before anything else. Clearly the child was important to him in some way, though Eris thought it may just be natural curiosity.  
"He caught a Ralts" Eris told him "It was strange though. It seemed a little down, almost scared even. I think it was just me being there though. In other news, you've got my Trainer's Licence. I'm going to need that."

"Of course. I'll fetch that in a minute. Now listen. I know that you're going to want to challenge me, prove you're better than me, but you can't. Not just yet anyway. After you get the Heat Badge from Lavaridge Town, come back here and I'll see how much better you've become" his father told him "There's something else as well. I need you to take a package to Devon Corp in Rustboro City. It's got some important documents that Mr. Stone, the CEO, needs as well as parts for a little side project of his. They're too fragile to send in the mail, which is why I'm giving them to you. Good luck on the rest of your journey Eris. I hope to see you back here soon."

Norman left the room and returned a few minutes later with a small laminated card that bore the name Eris, a thin steel box that opened up to reveal it was packed with foam and there were spaces cut out for the eight badges of the region. Finally Norman presented his son with the package, a hefty metal container measuring around two feet on every side.

Making sure the container was safely secured inside his backpack Eris bid his father farewell and emerged back out onto the busy streets of Petalburg City. He felt his eyelids trying to shut, but forced them to stay open until night fell. In the meantime he had other business to attend to, business that would hopefully get him a meal at the same time. He was starving. Eventually he found himself on the main thoroughfare, Slaking Boulevard, which cut through the middle of the city, separating the north from the south. Eris turned to the south side, owned by the Linoone Runners. They were the calmer group in the city, typically abstaining from violence and instead simply running drugs around the city.

Most often they supplied for the leading gang on the north side of the city, the Vigoroth Brawlers. Despite many police forces saying that they wished to crack down on drugs and gang warfare, they mostly left the Runners and the Brawlers to it. The Runners supplied and in turn the Brawlers protected them on the north side of the city; only a fool would try and start a turf war with either gang, as nobody wanted to fight the Brawlers or cut off the supply chain. It kept the city quiet, though it was still unwise to walk around unprotected in the north. Eris mused on the gang structure as he walked, seeing a figure high above his head jumping the gap between two buildings, and realised that he respected it. It was… balanced. Order and chaos meshed beautifully like gears in a machine, one turning the other, always in harmony. Eris turned into a nearby corner café, The Slakoth's Rest, and made his way straight to the bar.

The air was smoky and pungent; filled with the scent of sweat, vomit and tobacco. The grease and grime that adorned the bar was easily palpable and cracked when Eris rapped hard twice and on surface. A pot-bellied man with food tangled into his grey beard came out of a door located behind the bar, removed his stained apron, and waddled over to see who had called him, looking up and down the bar.

"Hello Joe. It's been a long time since we saw each other last" Eris said, cold and calculating. The other patrons at the bar, burly men covered in tattoos, were instilled with a strange sense of fear that seemed to emanate from the child who had just appeared in their midst. Quite a few of them muttered something about having business to attend to and left, leaving half-finished pints on the bar. Joe paled at the voice, and turned to look at the speaker. His face lost even more colour when he saw Eris and he bolted into the back room.

Eris quickly vaulted over the bar-top and pursued him. Joe knew he wasn't going to escape by running, and was waiting in the kitchen with a knife in hand. "What d'ya want wit' me? Ain't you already done enough damage to me an' me life? Ya ain't takin' this place off me, not like ya took me wife an' kids! I'll die firs'!" Joe said, as he quivered with fear in the corner of the room, the knife in his hand shaky.

"I'm not here to hurt you Joe. I'm not part of that any more. I killed the man who led that operation two months ago. All I'm here for is what you owe me" Eris replied, his movements slow and observable.  
"I don' owe ya nothin'. Why should I owe scum like ya? Eh? Tell me why."  
Eris needed to speak only four words. "Your daughter is alive." Eris pulled out his phone and tossed it to him "Folder entitled 'Harm'. We've kept in touch." Joe flicked quickly through the phone's menus until he reached the folder. He tapped once, and dropped the knife in his hand. The screen was filled with pictures of a girl; some with her in a lab coat, others with two Pokémon by her side- an Espeon and Umbreon.

Joe collapsed to the ground next to the knife with tears streaming down his face. Eris knelt next to him. "I suggest you find someone to run this place why you go visit her. She misses you" he told the blubbering mess "But first I need information. You see and hear everything that goes on in this city. Has been anything out of the norm recently?"

Joe looked at the child who had shattered his world, once with grief and once with love, and broke down once again. Eris calmly waited for the man to steady himself.  
"S-some guys in red. They bin, I don' know. Runnin' round, stirrin' up trouble 'ere and there. Seems like they're tryin' ta break the gangs up. Star' a turf war or somin'. Goin' pretty slow 'bout it though. But I guess it makes sense, given wha' they call 'emselves" Joe told the child, who was deep in thought processing the information.

"And what do they call themselves? And what's their purpose?"  
"Don' know what the purpose is, but I've 'eard rumours 'ere an' there. Somin' 'bout expandin' the lan'. Don' know if tha' means what they got or the real lan', but tha's jus' crazy talk ain't it. As fer the name, they call 'emselves Magma. Team Magma." Joe finished speaking and looked down at the phone again, tears still glistening in his eyes. He threw the phone back to Eris who turned and left without a word, instead leaving a hefty sum of Pokédollars on the counter. Joe looked at the money from his position on the floor and stood up slowly. He scooped the money into his pockets and went upstairs to pack his bags for the long trip home.

Eris stayed slightly longer in The Slakoth's Rest in order to purchase a meal. The meat was gristly and the vegetables were undercooked, but it was food. Eris wolfed it down to avoid tasting it too much and left payment on the table, walking back outside to find the streetlamps illuminating the road. In sharp contrast to the previous night, it was sweltering and Eris decided to sleep outside. Unlike many who slept rough, the ground wasn't the only option for Eris.

He tightened the straps on his pack and turned into one of the nearby darkened alleyways. The buildings on either side of him closed in; steadily narrowing with each step he took. When the end of the alley came in sight Eris broke into a run, gaining speed until he jumped at the left hand wall. Pushing off the wall hard with his right foot he turned his body so that his left impacted the other wall. He continued in this fashion until he reached the top of the wall and hauled himself over the lip. Eris loosened the straps of his backpack and let it drop to the floor of the roof, but he stayed standing in order to look at the city from on high.

Simply put, it was beautiful. He stood for a short while longer, soaking in the atmosphere, before opening his pack and pulling out his sleeping bag. He spread it on the floor, lay on top of it, and looked up at the few stars he could see through the bright glare of the urban lights. He recalled his conversation with Joe not half an hour ago and wondered what horrors of his past he would dream of that night. Eris closed his eyes to the world and let the murkiness of sleep and dreams drag him away.

XXXXXX

A group of three people walked across the desert sands to a red train engine. They didn't need to talk. They knew what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. Two of them broke off from the group and moved to a nearby pump, seemingly filling up the motorcycle marked there. The third man, a sanguine figure dressed in a maroon business suit and grey trousers, walked calmly up the ramp and into the engine. His voice emanated from inside. It was slow and slick, in control of the situation. "Nobody moves or makes a sound, nobody gets hurt."

A muted scream came from the engine, followed by a swift gunshot. The retort was followed by a second one soon afterwards in response to a gasp uttered by another one of the patrons. This time there were no sounds. The voice came again. "Everyone in here is to leave. You make take your dead with you. The only people are want are you three" the man said, though to whom the last bit was directed was a mystery. People soon started to flood out of the carriage, four of them carrying two bodies with them. They were all too shocked to say anything, and simply mounted their vehicles and left the area deserted, apart from the other two people.

One was a giant of a man, with bulging biceps and pectoral muscles. He wore nothing more than a red shirt with a flared collar ripped open down the centre and brown skinny jeans. It did not seem possible that his tiny legs could support such weight, yet they somehow managed it. His abdominal muscles showed a prominent six-pack and looked as though they would crush rocks. He was bald, the only hair on his face being his distinctive brown eyebrows and moustache. The eyebrows curved up and out away from his face, creating the illusion of horns, and his moustache stuck out as though a lightning bolt had struck him horizontally either side of his face and become hair. The final person, was Eris. Once everyone had left the area they walked side by side into the engine.

Inside the engine several air conditioning units provided soothing, cool air onto the six people who remained. The sanguine man held a pistol rock steady, its muzzle pointed at the three on the other side of the bar. One was Joe, looking some five years younger. His beard hair wasn't a tangled mess and was only just beginning to grey, his stomach showed only signs of someone who was well fed and he still had a full head of auburn. He was dressed in a clean apron that covered a green shirt and khaki slacks, and he clutched the two women either side of him protectively.

The woman on his left, who seemed to be his wife, was dressed in a simple azure smock and her blonde hair was pulled up into a bun atop her head. On his right was a young girl who looked to be thirteen. He ginger hair was parted on either side of her face and came down to her chin. She wore a dark blue top and a short skirt of the same colour as her eyes, which were oceanic and held back a barely concealed rage. On her feet she wore high pink boots that came up to a few inches below her knees. A denim jacket was hung on the peg nearest to her.

The giant spoke first, his voice booming in the enclosed space. "Sidewinder, lower the gun. We're here to have a nice civil conversation. Stick around though. We may need your expertise."  
"W-w-what d'ya wan' wit' us?" Joe stammered as he eyed the giant. "I've g-got money, if y-yer wan' tha'"  
"Calm yourself Joe. I only want one thing. Information. And you are going to provide it." With that the giant reached over the counter and tore Joe's wife away from him."Muriel!" Joe screamed. The giant gestured to Sidewinder who produced to pull out a needle from a box he'd procured from his pocket. He'd moved quickly and jabbed it into her upper arm with precision. He stepped back and lit a cigarette he'd produced from the same box, calmly observing the proceedings.

The giant spoke once more. "That drug Sidewinder just injected your wife with stops the body from falling unconscious or dying of shock, even if in great pain. Here's how this is going to play out. I'm going to ask you a question. If you don't answer, I break some of your wife's bones." The woman in his arms began to thrash wildly and scream at these words, her eyes wide. The giant simply held her tighter and placed a hand over her mouth to muffle her screams. "Let's begin shall we? Has anyone else been asking for information besides the usual lately?"

Joe opened his mouth then closed it again. He hesitated for a minute before the giant spoke again. "Too long. Looks like we get to test how well our drug works!" With that he removed the hand from her mouth, the screams once again filling the space, and brought it slicing down like a scythe into her left knee. Her screams reached a new pitch as her lower leg shattered, dangling uselessly with a small spike of white visibly jutting out of the skin. Joe simply stared in horror at the torture his wife was going through, before launching into a rapid blur of speech "Ther'wasaguyjus'someguyIdon'knowwha''ewant'd'ewasjus'pokin'round'erean'askin'allsorts'boutthings."

"That wasn't an answer Joe. Seems like you need a little more persuasion" the giant replied and shifted his grip once again. His hand came across to the woman's right hand and the fingers slowly closed like a vice. Each little crack echoed like the pounding of a drum, and blood began to drip steadily out of the giant's fist. When he removed his hand the sight made the girl turn away and vomit into the bin behind her. Muriel's hand was nothing more than a twisted mess. Joe, breathing deeply and trying not to look at his wife's recent deformities, spoke again.

"Ther' was a guy. I don' know who 'e was or wha' 'e want'd. 'E was jus' comin' round 'ere, askin' folks 'bout some stuff, makin' notes and the like. A' firs' 'e seem'd like one o' them cops that come round now an' agin, but then 'e changed. Star's askin' questions 'bout the deser' and sum lab or some'in. Kep' goin' off inta the east. Course, nothin's out there so I don' know wha' he' was thinkin' goin' there. Tha's all I know I swear. Now jus' let Muriel go. Please."

The giant looked at the woman in his arms, and then back at Joe. "Surely you wouldn't want to live with such a thing. It's hideous. Eris, come over here. Let's spare this woman the misery of an existence like this." Eris stepped over to the giant and drew his sword with a hiss. Upon seeing the blade the woman's hysterics returned, having dimmed to low sobs while her husband was talking. The sword lashed out and sliced through the woman's neck from one side to the other, before flicking out the front. The screams instantly dropped to a low throaty gurgle as blood poured out of the gaping hole in her neck, covering the floor in an ever growing pool of crimson.

The giant let the woman fall to the ground and stepped over her dying body, his boots making little splashes in the liquid. He reached the counter. "You will keep us informed of that man's movements'. Once a week an agent will come here and expect a progress report. Of course, we have to be sure you'll co-operate." He nodded to Sidewinder, who pulled a rag and bottle out of his box, before reaching over the counter for a second time and grabbing the girl. Sidewinder quickly covered her mouth with the now soaked rag and she soon fell limp in the giant's arms.

"You'd better give us that information Joe. Otherwise you'll be getting some _interesting_ mail" the giant said as he turned to leave the engine. Eris and Sidewinder followed quickly behind him, leaving Joe to stare in horror and grief at his wife's corpse.

Back in the bright light of the desert the group of four stopped by the motorcycle. Dumping the girl into one of the side cars the giant mounted the saddle. Eris sat behind him and Sidewinder climbed into the other side car, his expression not having changed since he entered the engine. The giant started the bike's engine and began to pull away. He shouted over the noise "And that Eris, concludes your lesson on advanced interrogation techniques in the field!"


	9. Chapter 1: Part 8- Petalburg Woods

_**A/N: **Nic, my artist, has uploaded his beautiful cover art to DA. Check out the covers for the story, Prologue and Chapter 1 here. __Disclaimer- I do not Pokémon in any way. Nintendo and Gamefreak own those rights. I do however own Eris and any other characters present in this story that aren't in the games.___

* * *

Eris woke the next morning to the light patter of raindrops falling onto Petalburg City. He moved quickly and rolled up his sleeping bag, placing it back into his pack, before putting his trench-coat back on and walking to the other side of the building. Leaning out over the edge he saw the brown metal of the building's fire escape and jumped onto it with a loud clang. He made his way to the bottom without incident and released the ladder to clamber down. Back on the streets of the city he retrieved his wallet from inside his coat and flagged down one of the early morning taxis, asking the driver to take him to Route 104.

Climbing out of the taxi and thanking the driver, Eris looked out across Route 104 to the iron grey sea. The wind had picked up remarkably since he'd hailed the taxi and now the waves were crashing against the beach with great force. It appeared that there were still people somehow enjoying themselves in the shallows of the water despite the rain and wind. Eris shook his head at their tenacity and took his first steps onto the new route, sending out Alex and Aurelia to experience it with him. He noticed some long grass nearby and decided to see what he could obtain. Aurelia ran into the grass and emerged a few seconds later chasing the tail of another Zigzagoon.

"Just knock it out. We don't need another one" Eris instructed her. After she had done so he knelt down and she jumped onto his shoulder with Alex hopping onto the other one. The group continued in this fashion for a couple of hours until a shack came in sight. The clouds above their heads were bulging by now and threatened to burst at any minute even though the light drizzle hadn't let up, so the three rushed for it in order to ride out the storm. With the waves smashing the cliffs to their left, the vast wooded borders of Petalburg City to their right and the high-rises of Rustboro in front of them the group seemed tiny and insignificant. A bright white flash lit the clouds, soon followed by the roiling thunder. This was backed up by a second flash, though this one arced down into the woods ahead and imprinted its image onto the group's retinas. They made it into the shack just as heavy drops hit the ground, the clouds finally finding release.

"Strange weather we're having isn't it." The voice issued from another room further into the small shack "Some say the gods are awakening again" the voice continued. It was the voice of a sailor, albeit an old one and Eris could almost taste and smell the sea in it.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Eris called out, his Pokémon jumping off of his shoulders and readying themselves for a fight.

"Aye there's a smart lad. Never trust a voice you can't see." An old man came out of one of the back rooms. Despite his age he seemed spritely. His skin was tanned and salt worn from his years on the sea, his beard was neatly combed and his eyes still sparkled with youth and vigour. However, as he moved it was with melancholy and he hung his head slightly. "I'm Mr. Briney. I've sailed the route between here and Dewford Town, and from there onto Slateport, for thirty years now. It's always nice to see a new face around these parts. What's your name son?"

"Eris" he replied, sensing no danger from the man "You mentioned gods earlier. Which ones?" he asked carefully.

"You must not be from around here. It's an ancient Hoenn legend; though some say they aren't gods, just creatures with immense power. I would tell you the story, but I'm not really in the mood for it. You see, I was visiting a friend of mine in Rustboro and I'd decided to go for a walk. I was on Route 116 when some guy pushes me over and takes my Peeko from me. I can only hope he's still alive. The authorities have been searching for him for a couple of days, but they've got more important things to worry about than an old man's bird." The old man sighed and hung his head slightly more, his depression deepening.

"I'm headed that way to challenge the Gym. After that I'll need to go to Dewford Town, and only you can get me there it seems. If I come back with your bird or confirmation of its fate, will you take me there?" Eris asked the man, who looked up in hope.

"You would do that for me?" Mr. Briney inquired, his voice cracking slightly.

"Of course. I've lost companions before. I know what it feels like" Eris replied. He noticed that during their conversation the rain had almost fully stopped and he moved to leave. At the door he turned back and thanked the old man for his hospitality, before stepping out into steadily brightening sunshine. It continued to increase in intensity over the next few hours, and Eris was glad to reach the mud track that winded into the trees and marked the official entrance to Petalburg Woods.

The natural darkness of the woods was augmented by the bright sunlight outside, forcing Eris to wait a short while for his eyes to adjust to the new conditions. As he waited he breathed deeply, inhaling the mossy scent that filled the area. The small amount of light that managed to penetrate the canopy was tinted green and created a slight sense of being underwater. He returned Aurelia to her ball but kept Alex out, mostly just for the company he provided. The trail wound through the trees with no clear sense of direction, almost as if it had been created by a Zigzagoon.

The trees started to thin out about halfway through the woods, allowing the pair to stray from the track and rest in a large pool of sunshine. Eris flopped to the ground with the Mudkip sitting next to him. The pair stayed like that for some time, basking in the sunlight, until Alex spoke.

"Eris, where are we going?" he asked.

Eris looked down at the small Pokémon who'd moved into his lap "Ever Grande City. The Pokémon League. That's our final destination."

"And _why_ are we going?" Alex queried.

"For success, fame, money" Eris replied, but then his voice quietened "To prove ourselves, myself. To show that I'm not weak. To stop the world burning" he muttered. He stood up quickly, surprising Alex who fell to the floor, and started to rapidly walk further into the forest. Not even bothering to look back he said "Come on Alex. Time waits for no one."

A few hours later the sky began to dim and Eris recalled Alex to avoid losing him in the thickening undergrowth. As he forced his way through the bush he felt something rub against his leg, something bristly, and bent down to investigate- it was a Zigzagoon. It nuzzled up against him and he ruffled its fur on either side of its face before swiftly moving his hands clockwise, rotating the creatures head 180 degrees. Eris barely registered the crack that emanated from between his hands and slung the limp body over his shoulder, moving deeper into the tangled forest until he reached an opening in the oppressive canopy where he set the cadaver down on the floor and returned to the darkness only to emerge with an armful of sticks.

Within minutes Eris had a blazing fire illuminating the area. He felt at peace listening to the crackle of the flames, but he couldn't help but remember the last time he'd constructed a fire himself. Every time he looked into the crimson heart he saw their bodies and heard their screams. That pyre had burned for several days, new fuel constantly being added. The voice chose that moment to return.

"_I knew you couldn't face the guilt. I knew you were too weak to" _it whispered from the dark corners of his mind.

"I'm not guilty of what I did. It was necessary at the time. Survival of the self was more important than survival of the whole."

"_And now? What do you think now boy? I think that you'd just run away like the coward you are!"_

"I am not a coward!" Eris roared at the flames, causing them to billow away from him.

"I never said you were" a voice came out of the forest to his left "First sign of madness is talking to yourself you know."

Eris whirled around to locate the speaker and saw her leaning against a tree. She stepped into the clearing and within range of the fire, its light reflecting of the sweat that glistened on her brow. Her green tipped hair, long and free-flowing, fell around her shoulders in a near perfect curve, though it had been shaken up by exercise. Her legs were long and lean, the tight shorts she wore around them accentuating the muscles. She walked over to the fire and sat down, her emerald eyes flicking now and then to Eris, examining him.

"So, you a courier too?" she asked him as she leaned against her own backpack.

Eris was understandably wary of the woman, and hesitated before answering "Of a sort. Who are you? And why are you here?"

"Name's Megan. I run stuff all over this country for various people, mainly Devon Corp. I'm headed there currently. Where are you headed?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Same place as you" Eris replied "Same thing as well really" he suddenly turned to her "Have you got a knife?"

Megan leaned forwards inquisitively "And why would you need one of those?" she questioned.

Eris reached some feet to his left and grabbed the tail of the Zigzagoon, pulling it up into the view of his companion. His voice dripped with sarcasm "No reason, since I like eating with the guts still in."

Megan laughed a sing-song sort of laugh and produced a knife from in her backpack, holding the blade out to him. He grabbed it and flipped it round before laying the body on the ground again, removing its head and splitting the fur from the rest of the body. He sliced the tail off and then moved into the forest to hang it from a branch. A faint splat came from the forest followed by some louder splashing before Eris walked back into the circle of light with the gutted body and a long stick.

After about half an hour the two were pulling the meat off of the spit and devouring it voraciously before settling down to sleep.

Eris woke after Megan, who had re-stoked the fire and was cooking the leftover Zigzagoon on it for breakfast. The two rose as one and began the short walk back to the trail where Megan turned to Eris.

"I've got to run. See you in Rustboro" she said as she took off. Eris smiled to himself and followed her, easily matching the pace.

"Who's to say I can't keep up?" he called over to her. She rolled her eyes and grinned. They kept the pace up together for another couple of miles, before Eris broke off from the track again.

"I'm going to go train my Pokémon" he shouted to her. She nodded and waved to him until she turned a bend in the trail and vanished from sight. Eris sent out all his Pokémon and they scattered into the grass to find some opponents. While they were busy he climbed the nearby berry trees to restock his dwindling supply. He was just descending from a Pecha Berry tree when he heard Alex crying for help. Leaping off of the tree into the dense bush Eris rushed towards the sound of Alex's voice and took in the scene.

To the left of him was a white oval almost three feet high with spiny protrusions lying on the ground. Eris quickly scanned it with his Pokédex.

_Silcoon- The Cocoon Pokémon. Silcoon are the evolved form of Wurmple, and it was once thought that it uses the energy gathered while in that state to survive until its next evolution. However, it has been proven that it eats dew and rainwater that gathers on its silk body. It will attach itself to tree branches while it waits for evolution, moving as little as possible. It watches the world out of a small hole it leaves during creation of the cocoon. It shares some of these traits with Cascoon, though it is often less violent than Cascoon upon evolution. This specimen is male and unconscious._

Eris then saw Alex who was beginning to glow with a bright white light. Eris quickly averted his eyes and covered them from the light, which rapidly became blinding. When it had faded Eris turned back to Alex, who had changed drastically. He stood on two legs now and had grown three feet. His skin was now a lighter blue with his dorsal fin becoming more streamlined and darkening to black as well as being located further back on his head. The orange gills by the side of his mouth had become singular points and his tail had split into two black ones. On his underside there was now an orange circle. Eris' Pokédex was pointed at him in an instant.

_Marshtomp- The Mud Fish Pokémon. Marshtomp is the evolved form of Mudkip. The body of it is covered by a thin sticky film that allows it to live on land, due to it having exceptionally weak and dry skin. It must replenish this film by swimming in mud banks in order to survive for extended periods of time away from water. Because of this it is much faster as swimming through mud than actual water. Its hind legs are drastically strengthened from its pre-evolution which allows it use its forelegs as rudimentary hands. This specimen is male._

Alex, admiring his new form, spoke "Uh Eris. I think I might be starting to dry out since I haven't been anywhere near mud recently." Eris nodded and returned the Pokémon to his ball before rounding up the rest of them. He returned to the trail, setting off at the pace he'd been moving at earlier. He'd travelled another few miles when he heard a piercing scream.

He tore through the bushes, branches whipping by his face and sometimes scratching him, until he emerged back onto the path. A Poochyena was stood in the middle of the track, snarling at Megan who was rapidly backpedalling away from it. A man stood behind the wolf laughing at her.

"It's simple really. Just give me everything you've got and I won't set my Pokémon on you. I don't _want_ to hurt you, but it would be nice to" the man sneered at her.

Her eyes were wide with terror as she stared at the Poochyena, yet she still shook her head defiantly. The man laughed again and shouted, causing the Poochyena to lunge for Megan. She screamed again but the Poochyena never reached its mark. A brown blur shot from the side of the track and tackled it away. Eris stepped out of the bush and Thief ran back to his side, leaving the Poochyena lying on the ground.

"It's not wise to attack someone unless you're sure you won't be interrupted. I don't _want _to hurt you, but it'd be nice" Eris told the man as he stood in the centre of the track, his Zigzagoon beside him. From the side of the trail the Poochyena howled. Eris simply jerked his head in its direction and Thief rammed into it again, this time knocking it out.

The mugger looked to his fallen Pokémon and then at Eris. He pulled out a Pokéball and returned his Poochyena before sprinting off in the direction of Rustboro. Eris reached out his hand to Megan and pulled her off of the ground.

"Thanks for the save. I err… had a bad experience with a Poochyena when I was younger. Been terrified of them ever since "Megan told him, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"It's alright. Not a big fan of sand myself. Used to be fine with it until someone tried to drown me in it" Eris replied "Come on, Rustboro isn't far, let's walk.

Megan dusted herself off and they began to walk, soon leaving the dense cover of the trees behind. Within the hour they were out of the woods entirely and Rustboro city was in full view, the Devon Corp. Building dominating the skyline. Surrounding it were mainly apartment blocks, though a few of them were used by other companies. In front of the city lay a glittering lake with a rickety bridge spanning it. As Megan and Eris stepped onto it, it groaned alarmingly and visibly sank slightly closer to the water. The two hurried across almost without incident, but just before the end some of the boards gave way. The rest of the bridge, shaken by the slight collapse, also started to fall into the lake. Eris and Megan scrambled to get clear of the bridge and barely made it to dry land before the last board sank.

Trying to not look guilty that they'd destroyed the only route into the city the pair hailed a taxi and asked the driver to take them to Devon Corp. As they drove through the crowded streets Eris noted the position of the Pokémon Gym for later. Suddenly the taxi stopped, and Eris looked out the window at the building. The architecture was astounding. The building had been constructed to look as though it had been hewn from solid rock, or that the rock had been sculpted around it, and then left to grow as nature intended. This lead to threatening stalactite formations occurring from the four corners of the building, their point's almost daring people to walk under them. As he exited the taxi and walked closer to the building Eris noticed that intricate windows and arches had been cut into the rock face, creating shadows that gave the entire structure a certain depth that wouldn't have seemed possible to Eris. He shook his head and went inside with Megan.

In sharp contrast to the rugged outer layer of the building, Devon Corp.'s lobby was exquisite. A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, which appeared to have moss growing on it. The centre of the room was dominated by a beautifully carved marble fountain and arrayed around the walls were various fossils of animals and plants. Megan and Eris walked to the reception desk, where a black lady was talking on the phone.

"One moment please Mr. Stone" she said into the receiver before holding it against her shoulder "Welcome to Devon Corp. how can I help you?" she asked them.

Megan spoke first "Hi I'm Megan Pierce, courier" she said, showing the woman a laminated card "I've got some machine parts for Dr. Tabitha Wilson. "

The receptionist simply pointed the lift "Third to fifth floors" she said, before turning her brown eyes on Eris. "How can I help you?"

"I've got a package for Mr. Stone, from Norman Doohan" Eris told her.

"Hold on" she said to him, placing the receiver back against her ear "Mr. Stone, sorry to keep you waiting. I've got a child here, says he has a package from Norman Doohan. Okay, I understand. I'll send him up right away. Thank you Mr. Stone." The woman put the phone back onto its cradle and said to Eris "Twelfth floor. He's expecting you." Eris thanked her and walked over to the lifts, climbing into the first available one and pressing the button for the twelfth floor.

He watched the numbers rise to the fifth floor, where a tall woman with flowing black hair entered the lift. She wore a white lab coat buttoned all the way up and was consulting a clipboard. The doors shut once again and the lift continued its ascent. It was only then that she noticed Eris in the lift with her.

"Hi I'm Dr. Tabitha Wilson, head of research and development here at Devon Corp. Are you here on work experience?" she asked him.

"No Miss. I'm here to see Mr. Stone" Eris told her.

"Oh Charlie will be happy. He loves it when new people turn up. It's the stories they've got to tell that get him really excited" Tabitha told him "That's why he got interested in geology. Rocks can tell the most wonderful stories about times past." At that moment the lift dinged again, and the doors slid open "Ah, here we are. Why don't you come down to R&amp;D when you're done? I'll happily show you around" Tabitha said to him as she walked off "Mr. Stone is in the office at the end of the corridor, on your left" she shouted over her shoulder as she turned a corner.

Eris padded down the hallway, the carpet beneath his feet absorbing all sound. He passed several doors all embossed with various titles such as 'PR Head' and 'R&amp;D Chairman'. Eventually he reached the end of the corridor and looked at the door on his left. Engraved into the frosted glass was 'CEO Charlie Stone'. Eris knocked on the glass, and heard a voice from inside telling him to enter. He opened the door.


	10. Chapter 1: Part 9- Devon Corp

_**A/N: **Slightly shorter chapter this time. Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've been in a creative rut recently. I'm out of it now but instead I've hit exam season, so for the next few weeks updates are going to be scarce, if existent at all. I am however determined to finish Chapter 1 this week. Rate and review if you like. Disclaimer- I do not Pokémon in any way. I do however own Eris and any other characters present in this story that aren't in the games._

* * *

The room's redwood panelling gave it a darker feel, the sunlight streaming through the floor to ceiling windows behind the desk doing little to dissuade it. On each of the panels was a black and white picture of a young man holding different rocks and fossils. His age increased as the pictures made their way around the room until they reached the desk and the man himself.

Charlie Stone's face was covered in smile wrinkles, and his eyes still twinkled with the youthful joy of discovery. His hair existed only in tufts arrayed sporadically around his head. The moment he saw Eris his face erupted into another grin and he beckoned with his hand for Eris to approach.

"Come in, come closer my boy. Let me see who Norman has sent me" the man remarked as he continued to beckon.

Eris sensed no harm from the man and stepped up to the desk, taking his backpack off as he moved. He unzipped the bag and produced the package his father had given him, placing it onto the polished wooden surface of the desk. Mr. Stone slid it towards himself and undid the clasps that held the two parts together. Inside the metal box were two items; one was the strange yellow oval Eris had seen the Youngster on Route 102 use, the other was an envelope entitled 'Progress Report'.

"Thank you my boy!" he exclaimed "I've been waiting a while for this" he said, holding up the oval shaped object. "I'll probably need you to take some things for me later, but right now I have some work to do. Why don't you go challenge the Gym and come back later?" Mr. Stone said.

"Of course sir. It was a pleasure meeting you" Eris replied.

"The pleasure was all mine my boy. Don't forget to come back!" he shouted as Eris left the room.

Eris climbed back into the lift and, remembering what the receptionist had said to Megan earlier, pushed the button for the third floor. Other people entered the lift while it descended, but none paid him any heed. Eventually the lift stopped at his floor and he emerged into a white walled stainless room. People in lab coats bustled around the room, going through various doors, checking various readings, observing various experiments, and it took a while for Eris to spot the distinctive flame red hair of Tabitha in all the activity.

"Tabitha!" he called out. She turned to see who had addressed her and smiled upon seeing Eris. She made her way over, technicians and scientists alike moving smartly out of her way. Within seconds she stood in front of Eris and the area behind her was once again swallowed up by a sea of white coats.

"It's nice to see you here at last" she said " Welcome to Devon Corp R&amp;D, the centre of everything Devon Corp produces. We are the leading suppliers in new Pokémon technologies and everything we do here could change the world. Let's start with the Storage System" she finished, walking briskly towards a door at the far end of the room. The rest of the people in the room moved aside for a second time, seemingly as one, and Eris was thoroughly impressed at the power this woman effortlessly commanded.

The room they entered had even more activity going on than the one they'd just left, though this time it was purely digital. The walls were lined with various monitors, some displaying strands of DNA, others showing thousands of lines of code that suddenly shot up the screen in a seemingly endless blur.

Against one of the walls at the base of the screens stood a row of gleaming silver cabinets with rapidly blinking lights on the front of them. The centre of the room was dominated by bank upon bank of computer terminals, each with a technician furiously typing away.

A woman stood up from her terminal clutching a clipboard and hurried over to the pair. Her ginger hair was tied back into two plaits on either side of her head and, unlike the rest of the technicians, she wore an emerald apron instead of a lab coat.

"Dr. Wilson, we weren't expecting you until later today. The progress report isn't fully compiled yet, we still have to perform a couple of vital bug tests. Could you wait just a few more hours please?" the woman asked, her shoulders visibly tense with worry

Tabitha simply smiled at the woman "Relax Lanette, you're way ahead of schedule. The progress report needs submitting tomorrow, so you've plenty of time to sort it out" Tabitha told her. Lanette sighed with relief, her body slumping as the muscles relaxed. It was only then she noticed Eris standing beside her boss.

"Who's the kid Dr. Wilson? Hopefully he's better than the last one we had. Poor guy left after a day!" Lanette laughed to herself "I mean, what's so hard about mapping the genomes of 365 individual Pokémon, turning all that data into a computable form and then breaking down a physical form into that data with minor variations for each Pokémon before sending that data to be stored on offshore servers without it losing some on the way?"

Now it was Tabitha's turn to laugh "Lanette, you and Bill are the only people who would call that easy. If it wasn't for you two heading this project we'd never get anywhere. As for Eris here, he's not the new work experience candidate. He brought some stuff for Charlie and I'm showing him the important work we do here. Why don't you explain what all this is. I need to go receive George's report on telecommunications" Tabitha told Lanette, who appeared overjoyed at the prospect of talking to someone else about her work.

Lanette quickly grabbed Eris arm and hauled him over to her terminal before sitting down and continuing to type, pulling up window after window to show him everything she could.

"So as you know by now I'm Lanette and I'm the head of this project. Well, co-head I guess but Bill's always busy manipulating time and space or something like that. He's really smart. He built the original system all by himself, though he did have fewer Pokémon to work with at the time. Anyway, I guess I'd better start at the beginning of the process" she clicked a couple of the windows she'd opened and brought them up to full size on her monitors.

She pointed to the one on the left, where a complicated diagram was shown "We start by extracting the DNA from a Pokémon to give us a base to work with" she tapped a few keys and a spiral appeared on the screen. "This is the DNA of a Zigzagoon, but it isn't enough" she explained further "Each Pokémon is unique and if we were to simply use this base DNA for the system a lot of Pokémon would die, because the data specifically for them wouldn't be there. The machine that Bill and I created that de-constructed a Pokémon's physical form and turned it into data simply couldn't handle each different Pokémon. We needed something extra."

Eris could do nothing but simply nod his head in understanding. This was an entirely new field of work to him and he was wholly engrossed by the ingenuity of it all "How did you get around the problem?" he asked Lanette.

"We would never have done if it wasn't for Dr. Wilson. She's an absolute prodigy in the field of genetics and their manipulation. In just a few days she managed to do what we couldn't in months, locate the key pieces of the strand that defined the Pokémon within its own species. With that information we created an adaptable AI that took the base code and altered it as required" she finished. She turned to Eris to see if he was impressed, only to find him deep in thought.

"What happens if the data were to be lost, or the system was hacked?" Eris asked her at last. Her smile dropped slightly.

"That's the main problem with the system. It's exceedingly rare but sometimes we do get bugs in the code or a connection fails somewhere along the line and someone's Pokémon comes back missing a leg or two. We pay them compensation of course. Hacking the system is out of the question, since we take blood samples from everyone registered, and only by submitting matching blood can someone access their account. To gain access to the whole system requires either Bill or I to submit blood, have our fingerprints and retinas scanned before answering a random question that we've set prior, with the other one having to confirm everything. And before you ask, yes the power required to create the solid matter again is immense. That's why only Pokémon Centres have access to the system, and they're all powered by hyper-efficient geothermal generators."

Lanette stopped speaking at last, returning to focus heavily on her work and allowing Eris to leave her terminal. Tabitha chose that moment to return to the room and waved him over.

"I hope Lanette didn't bore you too much. What's she doing is important but she gets slightly over-enthusiastic about it. She really does go on a bit at times" Tabitha said.

"It was quite interesting personally. I'd be intrigued to see how it develops" Eris told her "Where are we going next?"

"My personal section- Genetic Modification. We work on enhancing not only crops, but also Pokémon and we have even began to branch out into human modification" Tabitha told him "We hope to be able to alter human genes in such a way that we make them immune to cancer."

The pair reached another room, this one divided into smaller rooms by way of reinforced glass and steel. Looking through some of the windows Eris saw scientists taking readings from a multitude of plants, injecting a purple liquid into a Zigzagoon and somehow seemingly drawing a sample from a Pokémon made from rock.

The pair made their way to the end of the room and into another room without any glass surrounding it. The desk in the centre was piled high with paperwork, the towers threatening to tip over at any point. In one corner of the room was an unmade bed with even more sheets of paper spread haphazardly across it. In the other corner was a computer running a solitary program that displayed a box and the words 'Enter Passcode'.

"Welcome to my office. Sorry about the mess, but I haven't really had time to sort anything out recently. I've been working with people from Mossdeep University's Paleolinguistics Department and Rustboro's Geology Department in order to try and find super-ancient Pokémon. We hope to use their DNA to improve today's society. Unfortunately all we've managed to find are a few scraps of text describing what ancient civilisations referred to as 'The Kings of the Elements'" Tabitha told him.

She continued "Devon Corp. has been exploring a cavern near Sootopolis City, but recently we haven't been able to venture any farther. Anyway, I should probably let you go now. I hope you ha-" Tabitha was cut off as her PDA buzzed. Retrieving it from her pocket her eyes widened "What the-?" she whispered "What could Charlie want?" She looked sharply up from the small device and stared at Eris. "Charlie wants to see us. Immediately."

XXXXXX

The two walked into the office only to see the high backed chair of Charlie Stone facing away from them. The moment the door had fully closed heavy duty steel shutters slammed down over the two windows, shutting out nearly all the light from the room. Only a gentle flicker from a candle that sat upon his desk permeated the gloom. Eris spun around, confirming his suspicions that another shutter had sealed the door.

Turning rapidly on his heel he charged the desk, placing his left hand on the wood and vaulting over it, swinging his legs to bring the chair around. His arm shot out and grasped Mr. Stone's neck. The two fell to the ground, Eris a snarling storm, Mr. Stone the eye of it.

"Release us, or die" Eris growled to the man.

"It appears I have chosen wisely. Now, kindly release me or you won't ever leave. That isn't a threat, merely a warning. I apologise for the security, I merely wished for no one to interrupt us" Mr. Stone replied, not bothered in the slightest by the fact that his neck could be broken in an instant. Eris, surprised by the man's calmness, slowly released him. He stood, rubbing his neck, and pressed a button on the underside of his desk.

The centre of the desk split in two and revealed a small compartment that rose out, showing its contents; the yellow oval and a letter.

Mr. Stone was completely back in charge in a moment "Nothing that is said in here is to be told to anyone outside if I have not specified them. The consequences could be severe enough to end the world. Do you both understand?"

"Yes sir" the two of them replied, deadly serious.

"Good" Mr. Stone continued "To start with-" he extracted the yellow oval "-I need you, Tabitha, to take this and plug it into the Alpha Server. The passcode you require is inscribed into the back of the device. Once it has been updated, bring it back here straight away. Eris will be joining Project Royal as its primary field agent."

Tabitha plucked the oval from Mr. Stone's hand and hurried out of the now unsealed door. Mr. Stone then turned to Eris for the second time that day, holding the letter in his hands "I know I said you could come back after beating Roxanne, but time is not on our side any more. Things are coming to pass that we hoped wouldn't occur for years. Enough of that though. You will know when the time comes. What I am asking you now is to continue on the journey you have already started upon in order to keep suspicions low."

Mr. Stone now stood and walked to the other side of the desk, handing the letter to Eris "Take this to my son on Dewford Island. Only you and I know where he is. He likes to remain... hidden. I know that you will have to travel there soon, and he needs to know this information. It is too secure to be sent by digital means. I trust you not because of your father, but because I know of what happened in Orre. I need someone like that on our side."

Eris looked at the old man, seeing the sincerity and desperation in his eyes, and then at the letter. He gently slipped it from the man's hand and into an inside pocket.

"And what of this Project Royal?" Eris asked him.

"Project Royal is a study of super-ancient Pokémon. That is all you need to know. However, unlike the rest of the team you will take your orders concerning it directly from me" Mr. Stone told him with a tone of finality. Tabitha returned at that moment and handed Eris the yellow oval. At long last Eris was able to ask the question that had plagued him for many nights- just what was this yellow oval?

"A PokéNav Eris. It is short for Pokémon Navigator and functions as a phone. It also contains a map of the region with detailed information on each town and city. Your's has specialist software installed that will update your map with Project Royal data as and when required" Mr. Stone explained to him "It will be an invaluable tool I'm sure. Now, this meeting has gone on long enough. I bid you farewell."

Tabitha and Eris each nodded their assent and left the darkened office. Mr. Stone returned to his seat and sat still long after the door had clicked shut. He stared at the candle as it slowly burnt down to the wick. The darkness that filled the office encroached until it encompassed everything. Only then, in the shadows, did he reach for his phone. He dialled a single number, placed the receiver to his ear and spoke only two words.

"It's begun."


	11. Chapter 1: Part 10- Roxanne

_**A/N: **I promised I'd get this part out before the end of the week and here it is. Unfortunately Chapter Two will be slow to update for the next few weeks because I have exams to do. Still, I hope you all enjoy. Rate and review if you like. Disclaimer- I do not own Pokémon, that right belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak. I do however own Eris and any characters who don't appear in the games. I profit in no way other than enjoyment of these writings._

* * *

Eris walked out the stone building, turning the PokéNav over in his hands. He mused on what Mr. Stone had said in his office and realised that it had an air of suspicion.

Why would he need to take orders from directly from Mr. Stone when everyone else received them from another person? And just who was that person?

He reasoned that the answers wouldn't come if he tried to force them. He would instead simply have to play along until they revealed their cards. In the meantime he would simply have to build up his own hand.

As he walked he also realised that he didn't know where Roxanne's Gym was, and had managed to place himself at the western exit of the city. Deciding turning around would be pointless at this point he continued out on Route 116.

The sun was beginning to set upon the route, making Eris note just how long he'd spent in Devon Corp., though he found he didn't care. He would simply work through the night with his Pokémon.

Eris began by erecting a fire in the centre of the route, marking what could be construed as his territory. He sat and tended the fire for a short time, before a voice from outside the circle of light captured his attention.

"Nice fire. Look's like I'm sleeping here tonight" the voice said.

Without turning away from the fire Eris replied "Depends if you have the strength. If you want to stay here you must battle me. If you win then you may stay. If you lose then the Pokémon Centre will have one more visitor tonight." It was only then that Eris looked towards the speaker, the light glinting off of his eyes giving them a slightly demonic look.

"I accept your challenge. I hope you're ready to lose" the voice told him.

Eris was disappointed by the cockiness of his challenger, and returned to looking into the fire. Without looking at his challenger he released Aurelia onto the ground and she lowered herself onto her haunches, ready to throw herself at her attacker.

"This battle will be one on one" Eris said "Good luck."

"Heh, I don't need it. Go Skitty!" the person cried. Eris looked up upon hearing this new name and pulled out his Pokédex.

_Skitty- The Kitten Pokémon. Skitty are highly playful Pokémon, often preferring to play with their Trainer than fight. They are highly fascinated with new objects, especially ones that move, and will observe them for hours. A Skitty that becomes infatuated with a moving object will chase it until it catches it. This can prove to be fatal if a Skitty begins to chase its own tail. Most Skitty are kept as pets by families due to their cute looks and adorable behaviour. This specimen is female_

Aurelia was so hyped up for the battle she didn't even wait for an instruction from Eris before launching herself head first at the Skitty, spinning it head over heels. It landed on its feet and quickly charged Aurelia bodily, but it merely pushed her back slightly.

Now with the Skitty close to her, Aurelia wasted no time in returning the tackle and sending the small cat flying away again. It quickly jumped back onto it's feet only to lie down and flick its tail back and forth, its mouth slowly stretching into a smile.

Eris had been sat watching Aurelia beat up the cat Pokémon all on her own and simply laughed, a short barking laugh, when he saw it try to use Attract. It was only then however that his brain began linking facts together, and he stood up sharply.

He looked out towards where the voice had come from earlier, still covered in darkness, and started to walk towards it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a shadow moving through the firelight towards Aurelia and he smirked.

"Aurelia" he called "Stop attacking that wild Pokémon. We've got a slightly bigger problem tonight." Eris still had not stopped walking out into the shadows and he was soon swallowed by them. He began to speak again.

"I find it impressive that you believed you could distract me with a fight while you stole my Pokémon. The audacity of it must have required some serious insanity. But I'm going to let you off lightly, since you don't know me."

The shadowy figure stopped, confused that a person had not only worked out his plan but also that they had walked away. From the shadows came a faint whispering like leaves in the wind, only there was no wind.

Their confusion turned to shock when a golden blur shot towards them and bit deeply into their Achilles tendon and bringing them to the ground.

Eris stepped out from the shadows behind Aurelia and knelt to pat her on the head, all the while looking into the poacher's eyes and seeing the pain in them.

"I've decided that you can use my fire, but you'll have to do so on your knees. Aurelia, take out his second tendon." The Pokémon climbed over the man's face and attacked his other ankle, soon having it covered in blood. The man grunted in pain and Eris smiled, impressed at his resilience.

Aurelia moved to attack again, but a gentle stroke from Eris stopped her. He went over to his backpack and pulled out a first aid kit, using it to bandage the wounds her teeth had caused. After he was sure the blood flow had been staunched he helped the wounded man up into a sitting position.

"I hope this has taught you not to mess with people you know nothing about" Eris told him. His eyes were fearful, but he nodded gratefully in understanding.

Eris let all of his Pokémon out of their balls apart from one. He kept the Skitty's ball in his hands and rolled it between them over and over, the metal glinting in the fire light every now and again. His companion said nothing about this process, instead deciding it would be better to remain quiet after the beating he had just received.

Eris stopped moving the Pokéball and spoke "What made you decide to try and steal Pokémon?"

"I don't really know. I just wanted to be better and thought the easiest way to do that was to steal good Pokémon" the man told him "Looks like all I got was pain. Look, I'm sorry about trying to take your Pokémon. I want to make it up to you."

"Don't be" Eris replied "I've already taken my payment. Even more so since you didn't scream in pain."

The stranger shook his head "But I haven't given you anything personally. There's a subtle difference between you ripping my tendons to shreds and me giving you something. I saw your Seedot" the stranger laughed "Pretty pathetic currently. Teach it this using your PokéNav."

The man handed him a small disc with a slight green tinge. Eris recognised it as a TM, though it was considerably smaller than the ones he had seen before. He opened his coat and pulled out his PokéNav, locating a small disc drive on the side of it and sliding the TM in.

He whistled and watched as his Pokémon re-entered the light of the fire at speed. All but Macadamia were returned to their balls and the small nut was left to slowly waddle to his side.

"What do you want Eris? Can I go to sleep now?"

"In a minute Macadamia. First it's time you learnt a new move." Eris held out the PokéNav, a video ready to play on its screen, and tapped it. The acorn Pokémon watched carefully as the video supplied various camera angles and details on how to perform Bullet Seed.

The disc drive flicked open again and the small disc was forcibly ejected, now blackened as though it had been burnt by its time in the machine. Eris shrugged and broke it in two before throwing it into some of the longer grass nearby.

"They still haven't fixed that I see."

He sat and watched as Macadamia puffed herself up before opening her tiny mouth in an attempt to use Bullet Seed. After a few minutes of nothing happening he stood, grasping a long piece of wood from near the fire, and picked her up to carry her into the darkness. The torch he held in his left hand illuminated the surroundings sufficiently to scare away any predators that had lurked around the edges of the fire, prepared to dart in and carry some food away.

Eris reached a tree and attached Macadamia to one of its branches before driving his torch into the nearby earth as a beacon for later. It wasn't long after he'd returned to the fireside that he heard a thump and felt a repeated insistent tapping on his back that grew in intensity and frequency. He turned and saw that Macadamia had returned, sufficiently larger than when he'd left her.

She opened her mouth once more and peppered the air around him with tiny seeds, some of them speeding by his face fast enough to graze the skin. He smiled and held up a hand, the seeds stopping immediately.

"Save some for tomorrow. Roxanne won't know what's hit her"

XXXXXX

The dawn broke swiftly with chorus after chorus of birdsong being the cause of one male waking next to the long dead fire. The morning only brought painful memories of the previous night, soon followed by the physical pain in their ankles.

From where he lay he looked rightwards at the person responsible for removing his ability to walk. A mere child and his mongrel had ended any chance he might have had at a good life. He swore to himself that if he ever met them again he'd end them. From a distance though.

He looked back up at the bright blue sky and thought back on the night. The only thing that had stopped him attacking the child right there and then was his fear that the kid might actually kill him. He realised now though that it was a stupid thing to think. The fool had actually believed he had reformed! He'd had to give up a Technical Machine, but it was worth it. The idiot hadn't reported him to the police, and he was still alive.

He sat up and looked out towards Rustboro, the stone behemoth of Devon Corp. clearly visible above all the other buildings. He started to remember all the things he'd stolen from them when he worked there. The PokéNav was probably the most important; he'd have to call for an ambulance if he wanted to ever get back on his feet.

He stuck his hand in his pocket, but found nothing. This wasn't unusual; it would just be in the other one. He stuck another hand into that pocket but once again came out empty handed. He looked sideways again, expecting to see the child, but there was no one there.

He began to turn his head to look the other way, but was interrupted by a new pain in the back of his head. His vision went black.

XXXXXX

Eris stood over the man's unconscious form. He was pleased. An occipital strike could kill someone if done incorrectly, and he didn't want to kill this man. Not directly at least. He picked the body up and carried it into the surrounding tree line, before returning to the fire and clearing all evidence of another person having been there.

Eris had already been awake long before his unwelcome companion and had been away scouting for suitable spots to leave his body, having eaten breakfast already. He'd only just returned when he heard the man stirring and had quickly lain back down as if he was still sleeping.

As Eris lay there, waiting for the man to look away, he too thought about the previous night. He'd managed to convince his visitor that the swift retribution he'd delivered would be the end of it, and hadn't expected being given the Technical Machine as an apology. It wouldn't have mattered though since he would have obtained it anyway.

He'd waited until the man had fallen at long last to sleep, concerned that maybe the pain in his feet would keep him awake all night. When the time eventually came though he'd moved quietly though the fading light, stripping him of his PokéNav and throwing it onto the fire, doing the same with the bandages on his ankles.

It was to the sight of warped metal and plastic, and the sound of bubbling and crackling, that Eris finally fell asleep.

He returned to the tree line and looked at the man lying half concealed under a bush. He pulled a Pokéball out of one of his pockets and let Thief out of it.

"Make fresh marks in the tendons. Make sure they bleed a lot."

The small raccoon seemed confused by the order but obeyed nonetheless. Soon the area around the man was being soaked in his blood, and his body was being covered in specialist Pokémon attraction food. Thief tried to eat some of it but was picked up and carried clear of the slowly growing circle of crimson.

"Come on Eris put me down" his Pokémon whined "Why did we leave him there anyway?"

"People like that don't deserve to live" Eris answered simply, no malice or steel in his voice, as if this was commonly accepted fact "This way we remove one more bastard from the world, feed the local the wildlife and no one knows it was us."

Thief was by now back on the ground and walking alongside her trainer "Oh" she whispered, mortified.

XXXXXX

Eris strode through the streets of Rustboro City, having committed the location of the Gym to memory earlier. His speed was furious, leaving the homeless and the charity workers that asked him for money behind without even a glance.

It wasn't long before he arrived in front of a small squat building constructed of a lighter stone than the rest of the buildings that surrounded it. Across the top of the doorway the words 'Trainer School' were carved and painted in bright colours, glaring in comparison to the dark stone everywhere else. He stepped up to the door, also painted as bright as it could be, and opened it.

Inside the building the walls were covered in paintings of various Pokémon, obviously drawn by inexperienced children. Many of them featured a young woman with brown hair, either playing or battling with the Pokémon. The room itself was filled with desks, a child between the ages of four and ten sat at each one.

At the very front of the room stood the young woman featured in the pictures. She was behind a desk herself, although hers was covered in teaching aids and materials. As she was writing on the blackboard she hadn't seen Eris enter the room and so he merely leant against the wall next to the door.

One of the children nearest to him had decided that now would be a good time to fire a rubber at their teacher, and had placed it onto a ruler in preparation to fire. The boy was lining up his shot when he heard someone whisper in his ear.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The boy yelped and dropped his makeshift catapult, causing the entire class to swivel round to see what had caused him such distress. Their teacher had also whirled round, but she had a Pokéball in her hand ready to defend her students. Eris rose from his position and bowed to her.

"I apologise for disrupting your lesson Lady Roxanne of Rustboro. I was simply wishing to stop this troublemaker before he could assault you. Please, do continue."

Roxanne was taken aback by the fact that she had been called by her title and she blushed slightly, but she was also quick to return the formalities.

"I thank you for your actions kind sir" she replied as she put away her Pokéball, her voice reverting back to its regular informal tone after she'd finished "Now, as I was saying there are five different status conditions. Can anybody name them?"

The children seemed eager to please their teacher and were quickly shouting out the answers, Eris himself counting them off in his head. When they'd all stop speaking Roxanne congratulated them on getting everything correct, even badly poisoned, and let them go for a break. Most of them filed out of the room while other stayed behind and played on their portable games consoles.

Roxanne waved Eris over.

"I'm guessing you want to challenge Gym. No one's ever called me Lady before though. Why did you?"

Eris' reply was once again full of formality "It was only right to do so my Lady. If I am correct in assuming you have a battle arena situated here, then I propose we invite the children to watch our battle as an educational experience. What say you?"

"You are correct in assuming as much. Let us wait until the children return and I shall pose the idea for their likening. Only then shall I engage in battle with your Pokémon."

The children did not take long to return to the classroom and were overjoyed when Roxanne asked them what they thought of the battle. They all swiftly agreed and soon were packed into the seats surrounding the battle arena at the back of the classroom.

The arena itself had a simple earthen floor with small spherical rocks dotted around for decoration. One of the older children stood to the side of the arena, acting as a referee, and called out to the people standing at either end.

"This is the battle for the Stone Badge between Marchioness Roxanne of Rustboro City and Challenger Eris of Orre. The Gym Leader may only use two Pokémon, and is not allowed to switch out. Begin!"

Eris made the first move, opening Macadamia's Pokéball and releasing the slowly growing acorn onto the battle field. Roxanne decided that a little more flair would be appropriate, electing to throw her Pokéball onto the field and announcing "Go Geodude!"

Evidently Geodude was a favourite with the children as they erupted into cheers at the appearance of the rock being that was about three feet in diameter. Eris' Pokédex was soon pointing at the creature.

_Geodude- The Rock Pokémon. A person can tell how long a Geodude has been alive by how rounded and smooth it is. They are known for having exceptionally strong arms due to the fact that they pull themselves up mountains to sleep. When they are asleep hikers tend to step on them because they bury themselves into the mountainside and appear to be simply another rock. When they wake in the mornings they will roll back down the mountain to find food, allowing them to continue strengthening their arms later in the day. This specimen is male, and owned my Marchioness Roxanne._

"Alright Geodude" Roxanne shouted "Use Defense Curl." The Geodude covered his face with his arms while burying himself into the earth of the arena. Eris was impressed by the simple yet effective strategy of disguising your Pokémon on the field. However, he was undeterred in launching an attack.

"Macadamia, Bullet Seed" he stated. Macadamia puffed herself up and began firing sets of seeds towards the rocks in the field; unsure which was her true target. Many of them hit only decoy rocks, but three managed to find their mark on the Geodude and cause it severe pain.

Roxanne was quick to bring her Geodude closer to her so she could spray its wounds with a Potion, but this was just the opening Eris was waiting for. He cried "Again!" to his Seedot, who launched on final withering volley that smacked into the Geodude with enough force to push it off the field and into unconsciousness.

The children were still cheering and chanting, though it seemed that they were now supporting Eris instead of their teacher. Roxanne didn't let the lack of support get to her though, and merely sent out her next Pokémon.

"Alright Nosepass! Let's show everyone why we're a Gym Leader!"

The Pokémon Roxanne had sent out was a slightly darkened blue and it stood some six feet tall. It possessed a gigantic, imposing red nose that sent it spinning around in circles where it stood. Eventually it stopped and was looking straight at Eris, its needle like arms pointing directly at him along with the nose.

_Nosepass- The Compass Pokémon. Nosepass are solitary Pokémon, due to their noses being highly magnetised. Two of them cannot come into contact with each other because their magnetic fields will repel the other. Because of this strong magnetic field they will always face northwards. There have been reports of Nosepass that are able to fluctuate the polarity of their magnetic field, allowing them to develop a crude system of attack by attracting and repelling iron in nearby rocks. They move exceptionally slowly, averaging about three eighths of an inch every year. This particular specimen is female and belongs to Marchioness Roxanne._

Roxanne was faster to give her orders once again and shouted for her Nosepass to use Harden. Eris was amazed when he saw the Pokémon somehow become even stiffer than it already was. He told Macadamia to use Bullet Seed nonetheless. She didn't have much energy left to fire them however, and only two sets managed to hit their target.

Roxanne smiled and shouted "Nosepass, use Rock Throw!"

Eris was wondering how the unmoving statue could possibly throw rocks when he noticed some of the rocks on the field being drawn towards it.

"They've got iron cores. That Nosepass won't need to move at all. Macadamia, get back here now!" he shouted, realising the danger now present on the field. The once again tiny acorn rushed back to his side, her place being taken by Alex who swatted away the rocks that flew towards him.

Now Eris held the speed advantage, and was quick to abuse it. "Water Gun, straight to the face."

After evolving into a Marshtomp his internal water tank had grown considerably larger, as was evident by the sheer volume of water that came shooting out of Alex's mouth. It smacked into the Nosepass and split round each side, though it did alter the position of the Pokémon slightly before its magnetic nose pulled it back round.

Alex didn't have a chance to react as Roxanne said "Rock Tomb" and rocks started dropping out of the sky, surrounding and trapping him in a makeshift pyramid. Fortunately for Eris, his opponent also chose that moment to heal her Pokémon, allowing Alex to fire off another blast of water through a gap before attempting to dig his way out of the tomb.

Alex was still scrabbling to shift rocks and had opened a wider hole when some more rocks flew through the gap and smacked him in the face. This also had the effect of knocking him out the back of the pyramid structure, and allowing him to fire off one final shot of water at the Nosepass.

Despite smashing into the creature with immense force, the water did nothing in the way of actually shifting the Nosepass from its spot. Instead its arms simply seemed to loosen and fall to its sides. The battle was over.

"Marchioness Roxanne of Rustboro is out of Pokémon. Challenger Eris wins!" the referee announced. The two trainers recalled their Pokémon to their respective balls and walked to the centre of the field among tumultuous applause

Eris was the first to speak.

"I thank you Lady Roxanne for this wonderful battle."

"And I thank you Challenger Eris for this wonderful battle." She now raised her voice to be heard over the cheering "For the rock hard determination you showed to win, I am proud to present you with the Stone Badge!" Somehow the noise increased in volume as Roxanne handed Eris the golden grey rectangle, two of the corners more prominent than the others. She also handed him a dark brown TM that he immediately slipped into the specialist case he'd got out of his bag in preparation.

Roxanne wasn't finished just yet though. She handed him a second disk that he hadn't seen before, this one a dulled white with a glossy sheen over it. He looked quizzically at her for an explanation.

"This is an HM, or Hyper-Machine. Unlike TMs, these can be used more than once, but they imprint more heavily onto the learner and so they can't be forgotten by ordinary means. They contain moves that research has shown are the used the most outside of battle. This one contains Cut."

The explanation made perfect sense to Eris, especially from a business standpoint, and he nodded in affirmation as he slipped it into his case. He thanked Roxanne for her gifts and thanked the child who had been the referee before waving goodbye to his audience.

He could still hear the cheers of the children ringing in his ears as he stood on the pavement outside the Trainer's School. He opened his clenched fist and admired the Stone Badge properly. It caught the light and in the reflection he thought he saw a shape moving. He dismissed it as just another pedestrian and pulled a bracelet out of his jacket, slipping it around his right wrist. There were eight slots on the bracelet, one for each badge of the region.

He placed the Stone Badge into its slot and heard a cry followed by a thump. He turned and saw a woman lying on the floor as a man rushed past him. The woman raised her head slightly and screamed after the fleeing man.

"Bastard!"

He knew that voice.

Megan.


	12. Interlude- Strength of Rock

_**A/N: **I know I said that you wouldn't be getting any more chapters for a few weeks but I've managed to find time to write this. I'm planning to have interludes between each Chapter to give you a bit more insight into the lore of the world Eris is in. Read, rate, review. Most importantly, enjoy. Disclaimer- I do not own Pokémon in any way. That right belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak. I do however own Eris and anyone else who does not appear in the games but appears here._

* * *

A vast rolling desert. An empty endless expanse of ice. A dark cavern plummeting deep into the earth. Each one instils a primal fear in those who would dare venture there. It would seem strange that anyone would choose to go to these places, given the difficulty of getting there. And yet there were some who found themselves irresistibly, inexorably drawn there.

Some had heard tales of great treasures hidden there, or read the scriptures and believed there to be even more knowledge to be found. Others merely longed for the adventure and excitement of the journey. Then there were the few who felt a kindred bond with one of the places. A pull towards a better life. Often, it was only these that survived.

One such woman had joined a caravan of thieves and brigands, corrupt merchants and pirate kings. The woman's father had studied ancient texts his entire life, never allowing anyone else to come into contact with them. People had noted that he became more withdrawn as his life progressed, almost fearful of anyone else reading what he had read. Everyone simply believed that he had become greedy and selfish of the knowledge he had discovered.

His daughter knew better though. As her father lay on his deathbed he had told her of a secret chamber in the house, hidden underneath the stone slabs at the back. There he had hidden all the scrolls he had recovered and spent his life translating. With his dying breath he gave her one last task. Finish the translations, follow the map. Find her destiny.

She did not mourn her father. She was his last legacy, and could not afford to be weak. Instead she had gone straight to the slabs her father had indicated, though found no way to lift any of them. What she did find was a small carving on one of them, a symbol of some kind. She had never seen it before but she somehow knew instinctively what it meant. The stone demanded blood.

She had drawn the knife from her belt and made an incision in her upper arm, letting the drops splatter onto the stone. At first nothing had happened, but when the blood had reached the edges of the stone and fell into the cracks it moved suddenly downwards with the rattling of chains. The chamber she had discovered was lined with scrolls.

It had taken her father years to translate a mere third of his library. She did it all within a week. The second week was devoted to collecting more of the ancient texts and decrypting those. After that, a third week spent trying to find someone who would take her on a journey to the yellow sea.

Now she was here, almost drowning on dry land in all the testosterone. But she had learnt how to swim very quickly. She was always the last to sleep and the first to rise, being ready to break camp long before the first of the countless males awoke. For two weeks now she had been using this method as they journeyed across the sands. For two weeks she had slowly felt the pull becoming stronger.

In the first week she had been forced to slay one of the men who had decided she should only be here for his pleasure. He had pinned her to the ground by her shoulders, breathing drunken fumes straight into her face, when her knife gently slipped underneath his ribcage and into his heart.

He'd been so drunk it had taken him about five seconds to realise that he should be dead. No one chose to disturb her after that, though she kept up with her sleep pattern out of caution.

She snapped out of the reverie as the caravan she was in jolted to a halt. She heard a call come down the line and stepped out into the blistering heat. At the head of the caravan she saw a circle of ruins jutting out of the sands.

The woman confidently walked to the front of the caravan, located just inside the ruin border, and asked to be taken to the council. She was led rather quickly to a hastily erected tent, inside of which ten men sat smoking. They were the smartest, most ruthless men on the expedition. It fell to them to make all the decisions, though they had often deferred to the woman.

They asked her for her advice once more now. She gave them as little information as she could; all the while knowing that the moment her usefulness ran out it would be a race to see who could kill her or take her as a slave the fastest. She knew that time would never come though. She knew what truly lay buried underneath the desert sands and its importance.

One of the lower men ran into the council tent, narrowly avoiding the removal of his head by announcing the discovery of a sealed entrance further into the ruins. He led the council members there, only to be beheaded where he stood for disrespecting to the council. His neck spurted blood, much of it sliding down towards the stone that blocked the way. Much like the slab from before, the moment the blood reached the cracks at the base the door began to slide out of sight.

The council members lit torches and entered one by one. The woman followed on at the very back. Inside the ruins the path diverged into three. The left had a musty smell emanating from it, down the right glints of gold were visible. The centre one held only darkness. The council noticed that archaic language carved above each archway and turned to her for a translation.

She was quick to tell them that the left was a library, the right a treasury. The middle led to 'The Heart'. The murmurs from the council carried easily in the hallways, the group clearly beginning to divide into two. The thieves and pirates moved towards the library, eager to learn anything that might help their business. The brigands and merchants moved towards the treasury, keen to satisfy their lust for gold.

Soon only the woman was left standing in the entrance hall, though the sound of her footsteps began to echo throughout as she moved down the darkened middle passage. She did not flinch when the first screams started to come through the walls even though the darkness made them seem next to her. The pleas for help and the cries of the dying went unanswered as she delved further into the ruins.

Eventually the screams stopped. All that was left to drift through the walls was the occasional sob of those unlucky enough to still be alive and the dripping of blood. It was persistent, constant. Almost like a drum beat inside her skull. It was she noticed that she had turned a corner and a faint glow was coming from around another.

She did not speed up. She was not grateful for the light. She was not happy to see the end of the corridor. In fact, she felt only one thing. It was a warmth in her chest, a belonging in her bones. She felt at home.

The corridor ended and she stepped out into the light of a great hall. The hall was an immense cube of at least a mile on each side, a ledge extending around the central pit. Four walkways came from each of the cardinal points to meet in a large circular arena situated at the exact centre of the hall.

The walls around the top were intricately carved with thousands of images of what seemed like various gods.

The woman recognised Anubis alongside Ammit, guarding the scales of justice and sending souls to Underworld. Further along the same wall she saw Osiris, and even further she noticed Ra on his nightly journey, guarded by Set and Horus against Isfet.

She looked at another wall and saw a frightening image of a three headed beast, which she noticed was actually a dog. Next to it stood a man who cut an imposing figure in his black tunic. Attached to his belt was a bident, and held under his arm was a fearsome helm made of solid black iron. From her studies she realised that this was Hades and Cerebus, guardians of the Underworld in the eyes of the Greeks. On the opposite side she saw the Sumerian deity Irkalla guarding her realm, the seven gate keepers helping to keep the souls on their way.

She turned to look at the central arena and noticed an elderly woman of about sixty standing completely still within it. Their eyes met across the vast space and the young woman knew this was what everything had been leading to. She stepped onto the walkway.

She reached the arena, illuminated in its entirety by a complex series of suspended torches, and the elderly woman drew two blades from scabbards on her back, throwing one of them down in front of herself, almost taunting- daring- her young opponent to retrieve it. The other was held in a two handed grip across her body.

The echoes of the metal striking stone died away quickly in the gigantic empty space. The instant they had the two women launched themselves at each other, the blade on the ground lying forgotten. The young woman had drawn her dagger and was using it to parry every blow her foe swung at her.

Despite her age, the elderly woman carried a heft with each swing that could have felled a tree had it struck true. As it was, the young woman found deep within her the strength to block each attack until the moment was right.

The young woman blocked one last strike with her dagger before throwing her opponents blade out wide and powering herself off of the floor, somersaulting over the elderly woman and rolled away upon landing, narrowly avoiding a heavy blow that could have cleaved her in two. The sword was still close enough for the ring of it hitting the stone to stay in her ears for the rest of the battle.

Her dagger was quickly transferred to her off-hand, hidden, as she scooped the short sword off of the ground and using it to block the swing that quickly followed. She locked the cross guards together and strained to hold them there. Her opponent's strength was immense, wielding the blade in two hands allowing her to place even more force onto the lock.

The young woman held on as long as she could, even after she'd been forced down onto one knee. The metal was nothing more than a few inches from her face when she lashed out with her dagger, slashing her foe's right patella tendon. The old woman was caught off guard and she collapsed to the ground. Her elbow connected with the solid rock beneath her and the jolt sent the sword skittering away where it was picked up by the young woman. Now with both swords in her hands she felt more empowered than she had the entire fight.

Calmly, reverently, she walked over to the old woman. They looked deep into each other's eyes, only for both to find no emotion there. The old woman held the young woman's gaze even as the first sword was raised and plunged through her ribcage straight into her heart. Only the second sword separating her head from her body managed to tear their eyes away from each other.

The head rolled to a stop, the sightless orbs seemingly still holding power, a few feet away from the slumped corpse. The blood soaked stone was treacherously slippery as the young woman stepped over to it, drawing her leg back and sending it flying off of the edge of the arena into the pit. The body met the same fate soon after, the thump of it hitting the floor far below almost undetectable.

The young woman strapped the twin scabbards she had liberated from her fallen foe's cadaver to her body and replaced the swords into their positions. She moved to stand in the centre of the rocky arena, the blood on the ground around her feet beginning to harden, and felt a rumble shake the entire complex. She closed her eyes.

When she opened them again she had a sense of movement. Somehow, the torches above her still blazed with light. She reached behind her and drew one of the swords with a gentle hiss. Holding it in front of her and angling it to catch the light she looked upon her own face. She hadn't appeared to age more than a couple of years. She replaced the sword and closed her eyes for a second time.

Her eyes opened once again. All the movement had stopped now. She was far from her home, further than anyone in her world had ever dared ventured. She didn't care though. After the death of her father she had never needed, nor wanted, to return there. That was when she felt a presence stirring at the entrance to the cavern. There were a lot of them. She hoped they succumbed to the traps. But only one ventured into the entrance hall. A male. She sensed him walking down the corridor towards the arena.

It mattered not. He emerged onto the walkway and for the first time since her father's death she showed emotion. She smiled. He was merely a child. The fight would be an easy one. He would die quickly. After all, she had the greatest of strengths.

The Strength of Rock.


	13. Chapter 2: Part 1- Explosives and Dreams

_**A/N:** Okay, wow. This is by far my biggest chapter yet and I've worked super hard to keep producing it when I could. I feel like this will be the start of longer parts and less overall parts per Chapter, but hopefully it won't shorten the work in the long run. I should warn you guys that these chapters are not beta'd by anyone and apologise for any mistakes that appear. I do my best to keep them out of the work but sometimes they slip in when I'm typing too fast and I don't notice them. Read, rate, review if you enjoy. Disclaimer- I do not own Pokémon in any way. That right belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak. I do however own Eris and anyone else who does not appear in the games. Remember to check out NightArtistNic when new chapters go up for some beautiful cover art. _

* * *

The courier pushed herself off of the ground, her arms covered in grazes from the fall. She tried to stand but stumbled sideways and cried out in pain the moment she put any weight on her right ankle. Eris rushed forwards and grabbed her before she fell again.

"Son of a bitch" she spat out though gritted teeth "Two years without fucking something up. Broke my fucking record."

Eris sat her down against the wall and ignored her pain filled ramblings, his mind having instantly shifted into battle mode. He began to mutter to himself about setting her ankle, his hands already moving into his coat, when he suddenly stopped dead. Slowly he procured his PokéNav from one of the pockets, the logic of his brain having realised the most effective method.

He flipped the device open and called for an ambulance to retrieve her, before getting his phone out and activating the radio. It took him a couple more minutes for him to reach a police frequency. He reasoned they would have found the body by now and he wasn't disappointed. He was even more pleased when a broadcast went out about the mugger. Rt. 116.

He waited until the ambulance had left after dealing with Megan before he started climbing one of the nearby buildings. The roofs were always better than the streets in his opinion. It wasn't long until he was back at the outskirts of the city.

Eris growled to himself as he listened to the cop's broadcast channel. Personally he had nothing against them; they just always got in the way of his business. Like right now for instance. They were crawling all over the route, searching for anything that might implicate someone in the death of the poacher. He glanced northwards from his position on top of the tavern. He might be able to get around them if he went through the trees, but the cover was just too thick. He saw no other way through though, barring murdering most of the cops that were there.

"_Think boy! I did not raise you to be defeated by a few pieces of wood." _His father's voice came to him. He cringed noticeably, thankful that no one could see him.

Despite his hatred for his father, Eris couldn't deny those words. He silently cursed himself for what he was about to do.

"What choice do I have father?" he asked the air. Unfortunately, or perhaps in this case fortunately, the air spoke back.

"_You have everything you need right here boy. I thought you were smart, but maybe I was mistaken. You cannot hope to reach the treeline on foot so the only way is by air."_

"Those branches are far too thick though. There's no way through them."

"_Then make a way!"_

The scathing tone rang in Eris' head. It repeated the words over and over again, slowly increasing in volume until it was almost too much. But he couldn't scream at it to go away. The police would hear him. Instead he dug his nails into his temples, stopping just short of drawing blood. The voice continued to grow louder, drumming inside his head persistently. He slammed his hands down onto the roof and felt a slight pain his hand. He looked at it and saw a thin line of blood begin to ooze from his palm. He'd cut himself on one of the tiles.

His father's voice vanished.

His right hand shot into his coat and retrieved his PokéNav and TM Case, his left going to his belt to retrieve a Pokéball. The next second Thief was sitting on the roof next to him watching a video on how to use Cut. The moment the video was over also saw Thief was flying through the air towards the trees, swiftly being followed by Eris himself when he was sure that the police weren't looking.

The landing was unpleasant, many of the smaller branches and twigs scratching his face as he fell through them. Finally he landed on a thicker limb that held his weight and he started to move, Thief following closely behind him. It took a while to get anywhere since Thief had to keep cutting open a path for them to move through. Eventually they reached a point where the boughs formed a natural lap.

The light coming through the trees by now had stained the leaves fiery red and, reasoning that it would be better to travel in the darkness, Eris set his pack down in the centre of the boughs, recalled Thief, and drifted quickly off to sleep.

XXXXXX

Pyrite Town. Filled with vagabonds, thieves and any others who flee from the law, it is densely populated and highly dangerous, even to those who dwell there regularly. Despite it possessing a small branch of law enforcement, they were more there for the show of support and faith. They had no power. At least, they didn't.

Recently a new group had moved into the town, a new form of law enforcement. They were… effective. The common people who had been living in the town before criminals had moved in were immensely pleased. They'd been forced into ramshackle housing or even onto the streets. Even then they weren't safe from the tyranny of their new neighbours.

The new neighbours on the other hand were angry. Very angry. It was this anger that saw Eris in a darkened chamber bolted onto the side of the crevice that divided the town in two. It was this same anger that had seen four previous agents cut down. Only one of them had been killed by the law.

"Huh. They must be running out of real agents when they have to send a kid over. What's he going to do, whine at them until they die?"

"I would be quiet if I were you Wolf. This _boy_ standing before us has veritably proven his worth as a man already. He could put a bullet between your eyes faster than you could blink, and I reckon he could easily take you on in single combat. His father speaks highly of him with regards to other skills as well. After those comments I'd watch my back."

Eris silently listened to the shadowy exchange taking place in front of him. He was well aware that his performance here would define his life, or lack of it, in the future. The two men argued for a great many more minutes, other voices chiming in at times in an attempt to sway the argument one way or the other.

There was one voice in the chamber that hadn't been heard yet, a central figure around which the crime syndicate that Pyrite Town had become revolved. It took this voice to quiet the chamber. It sounded like the crackling of paper when he spoke, but it also conveyed the wisdom and power that paper could carry.

"These arguments are petty. They do not help us advance our goals in any way. I decree that we let the child take on this mission. If he returns we shall learn of his strength. The Owl has spoken!"

Eris bowed low to the centre of the chamber and began to leave.

"Wait."

Eris turned back to the chamber, looking directly at the where the speaker sat.

"Leave the sword child. If you wish to retrieve it you must return. Otherwise you could simply leave if you were to fail. The Snake has spoken, and asks The Owl for his permission for this to occur."

"The Owl grants permission. It is decreed."

Eris nodded. It was unwise to defy The Owl, especially in his own chamber, and removed the scabbard from his back. He lay it down in the centre of the chamber and watched as it was sealed within a glass case that ascended from the floor. The door behind him opened, letting in a blinding arch of light. By the time anyone could see again the chamber was empty.

Eris had been running through plans in his head from the moment The Snake had spoken, many of them revolving around killing The Snake after the mission. Now on what was essentially the main street of the town Eris was more interested in his primary target. Personally he gave it three days at the most before completion, but a stroke of luck might shorten that. For today though he would have to lie low. The new guys had eyes and ears everywhere and would most likely know that the Collective had had a meeting.

At that moment a hovercraft came screaming around the corner and barrelled straight towards him. He threw himself out the way into one of the nearby alleys and started running, cursing his bad luck. Anyone new was instantly suspicious and Eris' fears were confirmed as he noted the whumph of air being released. They weren't police at all, they were military!

He pulled his phone out and switched to their frequency.

"_Charlie Team ready to move Mercury."_

"_Negative Charlie Team, hold your position. It's possible that the kid has friends in there. Foxtrot, get into the air with Romeo and provide overwatch. I don't want that kid getting out of there unless it's in cuffs or a body bag."_

Eris cursed again. Mercury was a renowned tactician who'd fallen off the grid years ago. If he was back then they must have thought things in Pyrite Town were serious. Although, it might provide a way to bring them down from the inside.

The streets were beginning to curve horrendously, the housing that had randomly been constructed over time starting to block out all the light. Behind him he could hear the whine of the chopper slowly approaching.

"_Charlie Team this is Foxtrot. We are in the air and moving towards your position. Romeo has thermal cameras active. From what we can see from here you're clear to move in."_

"_Copy Foxtrot. Charlie Team moving in."_

He was out of time. He had to get out of here quickly; otherwise the mission would have failed before it had even begun. Just a few more blocks and he'd be home free. From the sounds of it though, Charlie Team wouldn't let him get there.

"_Charlie Team, next left. Kid's running himself into a dead end. Wait no! Go straight, go straight!"_

"Thank you Foxtrot" Eris muttered to himself as he adjusted his course accordingly. Charlie Team may have overwatch support, but so did he thanks to his modified phone. Unfortunately, the amount of space he had to do anything was running out, and if he wasn't careful another strike force would shut him down.

"_Foxtrot, where's he headed now?"_

"_It's erratic Charlie Team, no discernible pattern. Hold your position and keep him from doubling back. If we get a shot we'll take it. Charlie Team he's on the ground. Move in. What Romeo? The fuck?! Charlie Team tango has vanished. I repeat, tango has vanished. We *zzzt* lost him."_

"_Get *zzzt* back here then. *zzzt* Now! I want a *zzzt* full *zzzt* debriefing immediately!*zzzt* An*zzzt* d I*zzzt*'m *zzzt**zzzt*"_

Eris switched off the radio as the static overwhelmed the signal and flicked on his torch. Its high powered beam illuminated the sewer with ease as he swept it across the walls. He was fortunate that there had been a cover left unlocked and he'd tripped over it is his hurry to get to the bolthole at the end of the alley. He wouldn't have used it anyway. That would just give away a strategically useful position.

He moved towards one of the slime covered walls and felt around on the old stones. Smugglers still used these tunnels and had marked the walls to help guide them to where they needed to go. Finding no grooves he turned his torch off. Out of the darkness leapt a glowing arrow that pointed northwards and Eris quickly snapped his torch back on as he set off.

It took him a few hours, mostly because the directions on the walls were exceptionally complex to any who weren't versed in them, but he made it to his destination. The Bomb Hut. They were well known for being able to procure any kind of explosive under the sun, for a price. They were perfect for what Eris needed.

He pushed aside the fabric covering and walked into the room, carved in secret out of the walls. Adorning the walls were hundreds of anti-personnel explosives, from traditional fragmentation grenades to high-tech room clearing UVs. Eris was highly impressed with the selection; they'd even managed to get their hands on a Screecher. Designed primarily for Pokémon Warfare, the Screecher was an adaptation on the flashbang that released a continuous high frequency whine that immobilised the targets thanks to it overpowering their senses. They could also be attached to mines in order to deny an area.

Eris had started to investigate one of the mines on the wall, dimmly aware of a banging coming closer, and was reaching out to touch it when a thick shaft of wood cracked down onto his knuckles. Following it was high pitched insane sounding laugh and a voice of an even higher pitch.

"Wouldn't touch that if I were you sonny boy, no no no. Old Betty there's armed to stop nosy intruders like you. So what're you doing here eh? Why do you need Andromeda today? What's the business you want?"

With every 'you' she poked him with her stick, the thick knotted wood being driven deep into his abdomen and winding him repeatedly. He didn't complain though. Andromeda provided the second best homemade explosives there were in the business, and that was while she was blind. Before then there was no one who could have matched her speed and skill with their creation.

"I require some explosives Andromeda."

"Well of course you do. Wouldn't come in here if you didn't. What I need to know if what exactly you need. Can't do anything without knowing that. And what's your name? Andromeda's not heard your voice before."

Eris swallowed. Do or die time. "I am Eris. I require enough C4 to blow the new police headquarters to shit and breaching charges to get through the doors inside."

Andromeda's face lit up with delight and Eris relaxed as she quickly shuffled away through the clutter into a back room. Eris followed, amazed at how easily and fluidly she moved, banging her stick onto the stones all the way. The back room was filled with equipment. Eris noted the array of chemicals that were neatly ordered at the back of the room in a cabinet, and it was to this cabinet that Andromeda moved.

"RDX, RDX where is the RDX? I know I've got some around here somewhere" she muttered to herself "Ah there we go. Which means that the plasticiser is there, the binder there and…" she trailed off as she moved towards one of the tables, placing the chemicals on it. She tapped twice on the floor and swivelled to where Eris was standing.

"Give me time boy. Go scope out the attack site and be ready to infiltrate the building when my courier gets there" Andromeda said before she turned back to the table, scooped the materials back up and moved over to a large vat of solvent.

Eris returned to the sewers and set off following the hidden directions again towards the new system. There was a stark contrast between the dankness of the old sewers, constructed of brick, and the new, constructed of metal with a super hydrophobic coating. Eris didn't care what they were made of right now though. All he cared about was if Mercury had overlooked them.

His footsteps echoed along the pipes of the sewer, reverberating around him constantly. As he reached one of the corners he slowed his pace and peered around it, his left hand on his hip holster. He threw himself back round the corner as a hailstorm of bullets filled the space where his head had been a moment earlier.

He heard their footsteps ringing out along the pipe as they hurried towards him, and seeing no other option he threw himself into the central channel. A pair of them rounded the corner, releasing alternating bursts of fire from their assault rifles, only to stop when they saw no one there. Eris ended their confusion by emerging from the foul water and putting his own bullets between their eyes.

He retreated to one of the nearby ladders and climbed out into the polluted air of the industrial district. Compared to the stench rolling off of him, it was heavenly. Being careful to avoid being seen by any of the workers, let alone smelt, Eris fled the industrial district towards another bolt hole. All the while he was acutely aware of the large tower that dominated the skyline behind him, threatening to end his existence.

The safe house was simply furnished, a threadbare decaying rug the only thing providing any cover to the freezing concrete floor. Tucked into one corner was a small sink adjacent to a copper tub, a large pot sitting next to them. On the floor against the far wall lay a moth eaten mattress with springs sticking out of it. Eris closed the door behind him and slid the bolt across before grabbing the pot off of the floor and filling the bath.

The water was cold, but it was clean. Eris washed the smell of as best he could, but he couldn't remove it entirely. It took a while before he was satisfied, but eventually he began to feel the first tendrils of sleep claw at the corners of his mind. He climbed out of the bath and re-dressed himself before easing down onto the mattress. Unconsciousness came mercifully quickly.

XXXXXX

Eris woke, his eyes blinded by a thin shaft of moonlight that pierced the canopy above him. For a moment he was confused as to his whereabouts, fully expecting to have woken in one of many crappy rooms he'd had to sleep in when he was younger. The smell of nature soon brought him back to the real world though. He stood on the thicker bough as he shook off the final bleary moments, sending Thief out into the night air so they could continue on their way.

To begin with they moved to the edge of the treeline and noticed that the police had set up a night watch station. Upon a closer inspection it seemed that whoever was on guard had fallen asleep along with the rest of the officers. Eris grinned to himself in the darkness and jumped down from the trees.

Now on the ground Eris was able to move far faster than he had been able to earlier in the day. Eating an apple as he ran provided the small amount of energy needed to keep going. The rest was given by the drive to finish a mission. By the time the sky began to turn pink with the first rays of dawn Eris had made it to the end of the route, where craggy mountains divided the land in two. Nearby lay deserted construction equipment and a hut with smoke emanating from the chimney. Up a short slope sat the entrance to a cave, a sign with 'Under Construction' written on it at the side.

Eris walked up to the hut and knocked on the door. A stocky man of about 6 feet opened the door, his thick beard obscuring his mouth, though his posture suggested he was scowling. His arm bulged with muscles as he held the wooded edge in an iron grip. His overalls were dirtied with dust and his shoes were scuffed, though still solidly built.

"What do you want? And how did you get here?" Despite his lower class appearance his tone was educated. He could have easily been a politician or barrister by his voice rather than a worker by his body. His eyes flicked about, searching in the darkness. Eris opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by an urgent whisper. "Never mind. Just get inside."

Eris hurried into the building, the additional warmth of the fire washing over him making him notice how cold he actually was. The door behind him was quickly shut and he was ushered by another worker into a store room. Soon after he listened as the first man moved to answer a second knock.

"What can I do for you officer?" the man asked.

"One of my men believes that a child ran this way. Due to our current investigation we have the ability to search this building without a warrant if we believe a suspect to be located here."

The worker was quick to respond. "Is this power sanctioned by The Right Honourable Marchioness Roxanne of Rustboro and the surrounding domains? Or is it something you've given yourself because you believe us to be simple folk with no knowledge of the law? Maybe I should contact Lady Roxanne. I do not care if you are conducting a murder investigation officer, unless you have a search warrant you will not be allowed entry into this building. I would bid you a goodnight, but as it is dawn I shall bid you good day."

The door was quickly slammed, silencing the officers babbled protests, and the sound of a bolt being drawn across it echoed into the store room. Eris was soon after summoned out from behind the crates, a mug of hot liquid being shoved roughly into his hands as he was sat down at a crudely constructed table, one of the legs being shorter than the other three causing it to rock anytime weight was put on it.

The well-mannered worker sat down opposite him, but before he could speak one of the men who had been watching the exchange earlier spoke.

"What the fuck are you doing here kid? How the fuck did you get past the fucking cops and why the fuck made you decide to come all the way out here?"

Eris drank deeply from his mug, savouring the taste of the vegetable soup, before answering carefully "I was simply lucky to avoid them I guess. I came here to help an acquaintance. She was mugged and he ran in this direction. I merely chased him without thinking. I apologise for intruding on your work site."

"What work site?" another of the men scoffed "We haven't been able to work in weeks thanks to that 'eco-activist' in the damn tunnel. If it wasn't for her we'd have been done ages ago."

The first man, who Eris realised must have been the foreman of the team, held up his hand for silence, quickly being rewarded with it. It was then he who explained to Eris the complexities of their situations.

"Your mugger is in one of two places. Police custody or that cave. Normally I do not sympathise with those who commit crimes, but for their sake I pray that they're in custody. If they're stuck in that cave then may the gods have mercy on their soul. It would be a miracle for anything to walk back out that cave. Which is why we can't get in there to continue digging. I'm sorry son, but I doubt you're getting back whatever it is your friend lost."

Eris had continued to drink from his mug during this and, setting it down on the table with a thunk, stood from his chair. "I presume you gentleman have a backdoor?" he asked. One of the men nodded and pointed with a grunt towards another room, which Eris swiftly entered. Without stopping to answer anything shouted after him he hurried out of the door into the steadily intensifying golden rays.

The cave entrance was a mere dash away, nothing more than a few yards, but the warnings given to him by the workers weighed heavily on his mind and seemed to slow him down. He brushed it off and was soon stood just inside the arch of the cave. As far as he could see the cave extended a fair way back, almost to the other side of the mountain if he was correct. As he stepped further into the cave he heard a click right next to his head and felt cold metal pressing against his temple. He stopped immediately.

"Keep walking" a voice near his ear said. It was feminine and sounded slightly nervous, yet insistent and determined at the same time. "Look, I don't want to kill you so please just start walking again. We're going to go deeper into the cave and I'm going to tie you up and then the police should listen to me right?"

Eris was unsure if the woman was still talking to him by the end of her spiel, but decided that it didn't matter. When a gun was pointed at your head at such close range it was wise to follow the orders being given. Especially when he could feel the gun jittering and that the woman probably had a twitchy trigger finger. The slightest wrong move could see him joining those he never wished to see again. He started to walk.

He felt the gun pushing him sideways slightly and turned accordingly into a small antechamber. In the centre was a small gas lamp, illuminating the other three occupants of the room. Two of them were bound by cable ties, hands and ankles locked together. The third was a bird, trapped within a small bronze cage. As he passed it he saw its collar, on which was inscribed 'Peeko'. He tried to recall where he'd heard the name before, suddenly remembering that the sailor had had a Peeko. It had completely slipped his mind thanks to the avalanche of activity that had occurred since then.

He kicked himself for forgetting such a simple thing, before throwing himself to the floor as he felt a subtle movement against his head. The sound filled the space, deafening all four of the humans, making them immune to the shrieks of the bird. Eris quickly stood, moving to attack the woman now that she was trying to recover from the recoil of the firearm. He was almost upon her when he found himself looking cross-eyed down the dark hole of the muzzle, this time almost rock steady.

"I'm trying to help the Pokémon in here. Please don't make me fire again." This time she sounded on the verge of tears, but her hand didn't display the same distress. "Just go to the wall and let me tie you up."

Eris didn't hear her, still suffering from hearing loss thanks to her earlier attempt to kill him, and as such continued to stand where he was staring at his possible death. His captor seemed to realise this and gestured with the gun towards the wall, allowing him to understand her intentions. It didn't take long for his ankles and hands to be bound in the same way as the others. Eris could tell in an instant that she wasn't very experienced. Tying his hands in front of him simply facilitated an easier escape when the time came. Given her inexperience Eris was confident that she would divulge her motives to him while he waited.

"So you've got a gun and you've hostages, but why can't the police just storm this place? It's not like there's much resistance here to stop them. In fact, the construction workers could probably take this place with minor injuries if they tried. So why haven't they?" Eris asked conversationally, as though he was freely sitting at a dining table instead of bound on a rocky floor.

"They wouldn't dare" the woman whispered back "I'm here to protect the Pokémon from their noise, and I'm going to protect them in every way I can." She then pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket and opened it out, showing Eris a crude diagram that she'd scrawled on it. It seemed to depict the cave, though many other lines and crosses had been drawn onto it. With a start Eris realised that, though poorly designed, it was a amp of where bombs had been planted.

"If anyone else tries to get me out of here the place goes boom. Pokémon will be harmed, but it would protect them in the long run. Nothing would able to get back into these caves with all that rubble."

Eris looked from the paper to her face, and therein saw a woman possessed with what she thought was right. "It's insane" he hissed.

"It's necessary" she hissed back, before turning sharply away from him and leaving, presumably to another part of the system. Eris took the opportunity to place one of his finger nails in the lock of his ankle binding. Now that it was held down he was able to easily slide the tie in the reverse direction. After that he stood up and grabbed the end of his wrist binding with his teeth, pulling it as tight as he could. Now that they were cutting into his wrists he raised his hands high above his head, before bringing them crashing down into his abdomen, spreading his elbows apart and forcing his wrists away from each other. The tie sprang apart.

Eris rubbed his wrists where the tie had cut into them as he moved towards the other two men tied up. One was the mugger that had attacked Megan earlier and the second seemed to be a regular citizen who'd strayed too far from the beaten path. He frisked the mugger for anything that could have been Megan's, but found nothing.

"She took everything I had with her" the mugger told him despairingly "What does it matter though? She's just going to blow the place to shit. Probably kill you before you get whatever it is you want."

"Not if I can do anything about it" Eris replied, grabbing the mugger's wrists and shimming the tie off of them, repeating the process with his ankles and the other captive. "Run" he told them "Run as fast as you can out of here. I'll distract her. Take the bird with you as well. Leave it with the construction workers."

The two men glanced at each other before rushing out of the antechamber, hauling the cage with them. Their footsteps echoed back along the walls and Eris cursed, rushing out the chamber himself. He saw the woman who had captured him charging down from the end of the tunnel, looking bewildered, before she suddenly turned off course. Eris ran towards where she had turned, finding a second antechamber attached to the tunnel. He grabbed a loose stone off the floor and flung it towards her. It smacked her in the back of the head and she stopped searching through a crate.

The brief second of distraction allowed Eris to take in his surroundings. The place was littered with crates, many containing food and water. Inside of one he saw a package stamped with the words 'Devon Corp.' and he rushed towards it, grabbing it straight out of the crate. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a glint and ducked, narrowly avoiding the second bullet of the day. He ran out of the chamber, a third bullet taking a chunk out of the stone just behind him.

The package was heavy and slowed him down considerably, his movement pattern of weaving back and forth decreasing the speed further. It was only when she heard a scream from behind him that he stopped weaving.

"They'll never finish this tunnel. The Pokémon will be safe forever!" the woman screeched. Glancing back Eris saw a small black device grasped in her open hand. He pushed himself to the limit when he saw her hand close into a fist. He was almost to the entrance when he glanced at his feet and saw a small purple Pokémon. It was too far away though and he closed his eyes as the shockwave from behind thrust him through the entrance, the fireball following behind scorching his back despite his coat.

Lying on the floor with first degree burns was where the rapid response teams found him. They attempted to revive him where he lay, but they had no luck. They loaded him into the ambulance and pulled away, leaving him to drift through the darkness.

XXXXXX

Eris woke up uncomfortably, his back in grating pain. The springs from the mattress had dug into it all night long and left deep marks through his coat. He moved swiftly though, ignoring the twinges of pain that shot through his back at every movement. It only took a few minutes for him to have vacated the safe house, leaving no trace other than a slight depression in the mattress that he had been there.

Back on the streets of Pyrite Town Eris felt exposed, mostly thanks to the nearby industrial district and the tower that squatted in there. It didn't take before he was required to duck behind a dumpster in an alley to avoid a police patrol. This process repeated itself twice more before he was able to find a manhole into the old system, since it was too dangerous to attempt to enter the new system directly. Once there he spent the next couple of hours attempting to decipher the directions hidden in the walls again, eventually giving up and following a courier through to a smaller part of the new system.

It was only then that he learned the person he'd been following was Andromeda's courier, who was carrying a sizeable amount of explosives. After explaining who he was and obtaining the explosives held in a generic sports bag the courier handed him a note before taking off on another delivery.

_Give them hell for me- Andromeda._

Eris couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. One thing he did realise that if he succeeded then her business would boom massively, everyone wanting to use her weaponry even more than they originally did. It took slightly longer for Eris to make it to the tower's entry port this time, but when he did he discovered no one there.

He plastered the walls with the C4, fully intending to bring the place down on itself and hopefully getting rid of most of those inside before they had a chance to realise what was happening. If it somehow managed to stay standing he would infiltrate himself from the ground, working his way up until he reached Mercury.

With the explosives planted he navigated back into the old sewers and climbed out as soon as he could. Once he'd worked out his position he moved northwards to a stash he had set up a couple of years earlier. Stealing a bike that someone had foolishly left unchained outside of a store sped the process up- and left some poor sap having to walk home through the worse part of the city.

His stash was hidden behind a dumpster, placed outside of the regular refuse collection patrol to avoid discovery. It was also far lighter than it appeared, having extremely thin walls and no contents whatsoever, since it was simply designed to cover a hole in the floor. Pushing it aside revealed a metal hatch in the earth. He pulled it open and retrieved two weapons from it, an assault rifle and a double barrelled shotgun. The shotgun he strapped to his left leg and the assault rifle he slung across his back, the stock jutting out just above his right shoulder. His pistol stayed in its hip holster and the sports bag was held over his left shoulder. After he'd made sure his trench coat covered the three weapons he rode the bike back towards the industrial district, grabbing a small meal at a café on the way.

The sun had reached its zenith when Eris pulled up as close as he could to the tower. The orb seemed to be sat atop the spire, crowning it in a blaze of yellow. Eris unzipped the sports bag and pulled out a small black device, wrapping his finger around the trigger. He pressed down and felt the vibrations shooting through the floor and the sewer systems buried beneath him. As he watched the fire on top of the spire was replicated at the base, and a slow fall began.

It didn't last long though, but it had been long enough to disrupt the entirety of the ground forces surrounding the tower. Eris rushed in on the bicycle, one hand on the bars, the other holding his pistol to provide covering fire. As he neared the tower he realised that it had fallen to such a height that the doorway was no longer accessible. However, one of the higher windows was almost within entry height.

Fortunately for Eris it was one of the less important windows, and the builders had elected not to use bulletproof glass, allowing him to shoot out the glass as he got closer. Then he holstered his pistol and sped up his peddling, closing the distance between him and the wall at a frightening rate. It was almost upon him when he stood up off the peddles and onto the saddle, launching himself off of it into the wall, his feet connecting with the surface solidly. A couple of upwards steps and a few lacerations later he was inside the building.

The first door he came across had been loosened by the building's descent, as had the nerves of the soldier behind it. Before his training could even kick in Eris blew a bloody hole in his chest with the shotgun. Stepping over the convulsing cadaver and moving towards the stairs Eris snapped the weapon open and reloaded the spent shell. Unfortunately the stairs' locking mechanism hadn't been damaged despite the blast at the base, leaving Eris to plant one of his breaching charges against the doors.

The detonation smashed the double doors apart and Eris rushed through them, unslinging his assault rifle as he ran up the stairs. Another breaching charge two floors up blew the second set of doors open and allowed the stairwell to be filled with bullet holes. When the tumultuous assault stopped Eris opened fire in short sharp bursts, cutting them down while they reloaded with a triad of bullets nestled between their eyes.

He rolled through the doors and behind a desk as a rapid two shot retort filled the space behind him. He stuck his head out of the side and quickly pulled it back before another bullet found it. Electing to fire randomly rather than sit still and get shot he stuck the barrel of the rifle over the edge of the desk and unleashed a fusillade of lead towards his attacker. At the same time he threw himself out from behind the desk, firing continuously as he ran. It wasn't long before he ran dry, but he'd made it further into the room. He quickly thumbed the magazine release and slotted a new one in before the first had hit the floor.

He cocked the weapon and was about to lean out to find his aggressor when he heard footsteps closing the distance between them. He flung the rifle out from behind the desk and threw himself in the opposite direction. His faceless attacker fired at the rifle and was rewarded with 9 millimetres of lead in the eye.

Unfortunately the stairwell ended at the floor he was on, leaving the lift as the only way up to the top. He was planting a charge on the doors when a voice came from behind him.

"Turn around Eris." It was a woman, confidant and empowered. Eris turned around and found himself looking at three rifles. The woman who had spoken lowered her weapon, leaving the two men either side of her to cover him. She was a redhead, the right half of her face obscured by her bangs. The only visible eye never seemed to look at you, instead around you, the deep chocolate failing to comfort you. Her uniform was covered with various medals, and she seemed to command absolute authority by merely existing.

"I can only assume that the target of your brazen attack is General Mercury. I am Major-General Medea. Although considering Lieutenant-General Storm is lying on the floor behind me, I guess that means I've got one of the two promotions I'm claiming today. Given that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, I believe that we could work together to attain our goals."

"Attempting to perform a coup d'état by negotiating with a highly skilled assassin who is the exact opposite of everything you strive for doesn't seem to me like a smart move. So I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn your offer down" Eris said, throwing himself sideways as he finished and detonating the charge on the lift. The thing was he'd planted two charges, one facing each way, and when they exploded they not only destroyed the doors but also forced the three mutineers to duck.

Before the smoke had cleared Eris charged into the lift shaft, rapidly climbing up one of the ladders bolted to the wall. It wasn't long before he heard bullets starting to ping off the walls around him, forcing him to increase his pace. His pursuers quickly gave up though, electing to save firepower instead of waste it on far off targets. Eris soon reached the final set of doors in the shaft, but continued climbing above them. He was about to haul himself up onto the catwalk between the two shafts of the building when the entire structure lurched and dropped alarmingly. Eris was left dangling over open space, only one hand holding onto the steel rung. Far below him he saw the falling figure of one of the men, plummeting to a fiery demise.

Taking note of the lack of time he had remaining he grabbed the rungs with his free hand and pulled himself up to the catwalk. He walked across the precarious metal mesh and stood on the second lift, amazingly still situated in the shaft. He pulled a multi tool out of one of his pockets and began unlocking the top of the box. He dropped inside it and, praying that the doors still worked, thumbed the button to open them.

They opened. Inside the room was a holographic representation of the tower floating in the centre. Like the real one it burned with holographic fire at the lower levels, and had small dots placed around it representing the people present within. Eris noticed that he was absent from the diagram. On the far side of the hologram stood a fair haired man, with thin, almost invisible stubble on his chin. The hair was cropped short in the traditional military style, though his oceanic eyes held the sparkle of the thief. A cream suit covered his muscular frame, the ice blue tie exemplifying his eyes, Sat on a low table next to him was a chess game in progress. In his hands was a letter which he didn't glance up from as he spoke.

"Welcome to my base of operations Eris. I've been watching you for some time. It intrigued me when they would send for you to take me down." His voice was deep and authoritative, carrying a heavy southern Kantonian accent. "The important question is, what makes you think you can take me down?" he asked.

"Your Major-General is performing a coup d'état as we speak. She wishes to usurp your power" Eris replied, aware of her encroaching presence on the hologram.

Mercury scoffed. "Medea does not worry me. She is a strong woman, and a good soldier, but her lack of loyalty and obedience is her downfall. Even if she were to take over here she wouldn't listen to the higher ups, most likely causing a war that spanned continents. What else do you think will persuade me?"

Eris lowered his voice to near imperceptible levels. "Honour."

"Honour? What sort of honour do you speak of?"

"Honour amongst thieves. Once a thief always a thief Mercury. Even your callsign reflects your past. You can't run from it Mercury. Embrace it. Join us again. We could use your strategical genius. I'm sure The Owl would love to have someone to play chess against."

Mercury laughed again, a genuine laugh this time, and moved one of the black knights to check the white king, placing the letter next to the board as he did so. "Who's to say we aren't playing chess already? I accept what you say Eris. You have presented to me the most logical argument that additionally appeals to my own personal beliefs. This entire set-up has been a chess game and you've managed to place me in check and mate. However, I propose that we cripple our mutual enemy before this game is over." He tapped the hologram between two of the floors and it expanded to give Eris a closer view of what filled the gaps in the tower.

Explosives.

"Trinitrotoluene. Approximately 5 kilotons of destructive force packed into this tower. I may have been working for the military but I haven't lost my old friends entirely. Now, let's get the fuck out of here before that bitch turns up." He turned towards a bookcase that filled an entire side of the room, pulling a specific book and jumped through the gap that appeared as it descended into the floor. Eris swiftly followed, just as he heard Medea landing in the lift behind him.

He began to climb the cast iron stairs towards the roof until he felt a stabbing pain in his calf. He fell, but Mercury grabbed him and hauled him the rest of the yards up the stairs, before jabbing a needle into his neck. Eris felt a surge of energy and the pain lessened, allowing him to continue on his own.

Atop the roof sat a helicopter, which shifted slightly more as they got closer to it. By now it was balanced precariously near the edge of the building, causing the two of them to rush towards it even faster. As they ran Mercury shouted across to Eris over the crackling of flames far below.

"You can fly this thing right? Because I can't!"

"Fuck no! Aviation is the one thing I can't do! But it looks like I'm going to have to learn!"

They clambered into the helicopter and Eris attempted to absorb the sheer number of buttons and switches surrounding him. He flicked switches at random until he heard the rotors start to spin. Then he grabbed the cyclic control, being the only thing that seemed to make any sense, and held it steady as the helicopter started to lift off of the roof. He looked out of the side and saw Medea charging towards them.

He ignored her for the moment, focusing instead on keeping the chopper steady. He felt it lurch horribly to the right, fighting to right its alignment. He pushed the cyclic forwards and felt the chopper tilt in that direction, ploughing through the air away from the tower. After a minute of steady flight Mercury produced a detonator from his pocket and pulled the trigger. The sound of the explosion behind them was immense, the shockwave even more so. It was so powerful it swatted the helicopter out of the sky, and Eris' lack of experience meant he had no hope of saving it in this situation. Instead he simply held on as tight as he could as he watched the ground spiral closer, finally coming to a stop after tearing through a couple of buildings with the rotors.

Amazingly still awake, Eris clambered out of the mangled cockpit and was shocked to see Medea passed out on the floor a few yards away. Mercury felt the same thing, but chose to ignore it entirely as he staggered over towards Eris.

"As fun as that was, I propose that we not attempt it again. Now, let us go see The Council. I have been saddened by the loss of my chess game and wish to start a fresh one as soon as possible" Mercury said as they walked further from the crash site. Eris grinned and handed him a piece of paper, which happened to be his letter from earlier.

"But, how?"

"Once a thief always a thief Mercury. I grabbed it before I left. Felt like you might have wanted to keep it around" Eris replied.

Mercury just shook his head and grabbed the letter from the boy as they continued to walk towards the chasm and ultimately The Council.

"You have done well Eris. You have not only managed to relieve the force of their greatest weapon, you have also crippled them considerably. It will take many seasons for them to rebuild, seasons in which we too will be able to form a force to fight against them. You have earned the respect of all those on this council, and we thus award you with Honorary Council Member Status. You shall be known as The Cub until you come of age, when you attain full membership status and we will select a new name. The Owl has spoken!"

Eris bowed low to each member of the chamber in turn- or at least to where he thought they were located. "It is a great honour to be given this reward and I humbly accept it with thanks. As per the terms of my contract with The Council, now that I have returned from my mission successful I shall also be taking Soul Eater back. The Cub has spoken" he finished in the respectful tradition of The Council.

The Snake spoke next. "Those were indeed the terms of your contract. However, it is believed that you had outside help in completing your mission. What say you to these claims?"

"I do not refute the claims, but also make clear that the only criterion for my contract was that I complete the mission. It mattered not if I had outside help, only that I finished what others could not. Since I have attained those goals as recognised by the rest of The Council I state that my sword should be returned to me post-haste, lest I challenge The Snake to single combat to the death for attempting to sway Council matters in his favour."

Despite his mocking of Eris at their last meeting, it was now Wolf who was impressed the most by him. "You've got guts Cub, I'll give you that. And from what we've seen today you've got the stones and the skills to back them up. Given that you just ran verbal rings around Snake I'm starting to like you even more. Maybe when you're older you can take me on, see where you're strengths really lie."

"Gentlemen" The Owl said in his slow, calculating manner "We have already rewarded The Cub enough for his achievements this day. Perhaps if he were to complete additional missions for us we could congratulate him further, but now I sense that his only wish is to retrieve his preferred weapon and leave us. I myself have a chess game to attend to shortly. This meeting is concluded. The Owl has spoken!"

With those words the glass case rose from the floor for a second time, the front of it sliding open to allow Eris to retrieve his sword. He bowed low once again to the occupants of the chamber before turning and walking out of the darkened room into the bright dusk sun, the smoke on the horizon slowly fading out of existence as the sun neared the border between land and sky.


	14. Chapter 2: Part 2- A Tale and a Teammate

_**A/N: **Once again I am sorry for the large wait between chapters, my creative process has not been good lately. I'm uploading this at about seven in the morning, having worked through the night to finish it. I was originally worried that there would be too few parts to this Chapter until I realised that these parts are far longer than the ones in Chapter 1. Remember to rate, review and enjoy. _Disclaimer- I do not own Pokémon in any way. That right belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak. I do however own Eris and anyone else who does not appear in the games.__

* * *

White. Nothing but white. Suddenly there was black, but the white replaced it quickly. Black flashed twice more before the white moved and there was blue. Black, blue, black, blue, black, blue, the two colours flashed by. Then a noise. It was… gentle. Then it repeated.

"So you're awake." The female voice dragged Eris back to the real world. He glanced slightly upwards and saw Megan's face atop her blue shirt. He'd been knocked out before, but had never felt that bad upon waking up. He sat up quickly and saw his vision start to blur, but he ignored it, instead swinging his legs off of the hospital bed.

"The doctor said I should keep you here until they could get to you after you woke up" Megan said, as she grabbed her bag off the floor.

"Fuck that. I've got things to do. And I hate doctors" Eris replied as he stood up and grabbed his coat off a chair next to the bed, throwing it on.

"Me too. The, having things to do part, not the hating doctors part. We're on the ground floor by the way. I'll see you around."

She put the straps of her backpack on and turned away, walking out through the ward doors. Eris buttoned his coat up to the neck and moved in the opposite direction, searching for a window. At the far end of the ward he found one that swung open wide enough for him to climb through. Fortunately whoever had designed the ward hadn't thought someone would be able to climb through it and had placed a bed directly below it. By clambering onto the metallic headboard Eris was able to pull himself up to the edge and out of the gap.

How long had he been out? It probably hadn't been too long, but hopefully it had been enough time for the police to get Mr. Briney's bird back to him. Looking up at the sun he saw that it was about two in the afternoon, meaning he'd be back by the coast in a couple of days at best. The one thing he didn't have was his backpack. That was most likely in the possession of the police, along with everything he'd had in his coat he realised as he searched the pockets to find nothing. He didn't even have his PokéNav on him to find the damn station. Resigned to the fact that he would spend a few hours trying to find anything, he began to walk.

It had taken until the sun had reached a 30 degree angle to the horizon before Eris had found the station. The signs in the city were sporadically placed and never clear of which direction they were pointing in, especially at intersections where they seemed to say the location was in the middle of two streets. Now the sun was hitting 10 degrees because the moron behind the desk was insistent on asking for ID in order to retrieve items from a locker, and not accepting of the fact that they'd taken his ID earlier. He was getting seriously pissed off by this point by the desk sergeant's consistent refusal to let him get his items back.

"I demand that you let me see your commanding officer!" Eris shouted at the man sitting calmly behind the wood.

"I'm afraid that I can't let you do that without any identification sir."

"I have a formal complaint to make and I would feel far better if I had the knowledge of it going straight to the top. I'm sure the detective wouldn't be pleased if any complaints about lesser staff were being lost in transportation, which I feel they may have been doing" Eris stated craftily. The man behind the desk paled and reached underneath the desk. A man rubbing his eyes staggered out of a door to Eris' left.

"What do you want Desk Sergeant? I've been working for 72 hours and only four of those were sleep, so this better be important" he said groggily.

"This kid here wants to file a formal complaint with you directly" the desk sergeant said, gesturing at Eris.

"Actually sir I wish to reclaim items that are in your possession, but my identification is also in your possession, meaning that your desk sergeant won't let me obtain anything" Eris cut in.

"Well he's right" the detective replied.

"How about we step into your office for a second Detective? I'm sure I could persuade you to return my items to me" Eris said as he walked past the man into his office, leaving him standing bewildered outside until he realised what was happening and followed the boy in. A couple of moments later the two emerged, one looking highly shocked while the other seemed victorious.

"Send a man to retrieve the contents of locker 2922" said the detective, visibly shaken by whatever had transpired in the room. Within a minute a third man was hurrying down the corridor carrying Eris backpack and another bag containing the contents of his coat. Eris emptied the second bag back into his trench coat and returned it to the man who'd brought it to him. He thanked the three men as he swung his backpack onto his shoulders and left the station, emerging into the crisp air and headed for the nearest café in the moonlight and a place to sleep.

Eris emerged from the shadows of the trees, seeing Mr. Briney's cabin perched on the edge of the cliff a few miles away. Beyond that was the ocean, dotted with rocks and a thick fog rapidly rolling in from further south. Eris hoped that Mr. Briney was as skilled as he made out to be. He would need to be to navigate that fog.

The fog had almost completely covered the headland by the time Eris made it to the shack. As he walked up to the opening at the front he heard jubilant laughs and squawks from inside the cabin. Peering through the gap between the two thick wooden beams he saw the old man spry as a five year old chasing his bird around the front room.

He stepped inside and caught the man by the arm, halting their bizarre dance of reunion.

"I got your bird back Mr. Briney. Would you be kind enough to take me to Dewford Island?" Eris asked, his grip like a vice on the forearm of the old sailor, but his voice still carried a kindness.

Mr. Briney turned to look at his bird, still flapping happily around the room, and felt the boy's hand tighten subtly, so he turned back and saw the insistence present in the half grey, half blue eyes.

He nodded. "Follow me" he said, leading the teen over to a section of wall, where he pushed one of the woven panels. As Eris watched it swung back, carrying the rest of the wall with it, revealing a passageway cut into the cliffside. Following the path led the two to a pristine white boat, H.S.C Peeko inscribed on its prow.

Without another word the pair climbed the ladder bolted onto the hull and up to the small bridge, where Mr. Briney pushed a large green button on the control panel. Soon afterwards Eris felt a lurch as the floor beneath him began to sink

"Wattson in Mauville is an old friend of mine. He designed and built this entire launching bay for me to store this ship in. Watch out when you have to challenge him. He's full of tricks" Mr. Briney explained, the warning being noted by the still active military portion of Eris' brain.

As Eris continued to look out through the glass he felt that floor tilt alarmingly and stumbled backwards as the boat shot down the slipway into the now choppy waters. The waves rising from the fog without warning and battering the craft on every side did nothing to deter its captain from standing tall at the controls and pushing on the levers forwards.

Eris had only just regained his balance when the craft sped forwards at high speed, its prow piercing through the waves and dissipating their force.

"Haha" Mr. Briney exclaimed "This speed is exhilarating. It's been too long since I was able to push this craft to its limits." He pushed another couple of buttons on the panel in front of him and stepped backwards, settling into the chair for the rest of the journey.

"The course is pre-programmed, and the design of the boat means that nothing nature can throw at us will deter it from that course" the man explained as he watched Eris struggle to stand "And now that we are underway, it's time I told you the story you asked for a while ago. Now how did it go" he mused.

Eris managed to steady himself for a second time and elected to lean against one of the walls, bracing himself for any other unexpected movements. He looked over to the old man sat in the chair stroking his beard and waited patiently for the story.

"I remember now. It was a long time ago, in a galax-. Wait, that isn't right." Mr. Briney tilted his head as he searched for the memory of the ancient tale. "Ah yes, that was it. Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony. Then, everything changed when I started telling the wrong story…" he trailed off, looking to the ceiling for inspiration.

"Do you actually know the story?" Eris asked.

"Of course I do" Mr. Briney countered "It just takes a bit of digging to rediscover it. I believe I have found it again. So settle down, it's quite stunning."

"Eons ago there were civilisations much like our own, flourishing across the world. However, these civilisations warred with one another near constantly and managed to almost wipe each other out. Eventually there were only two groups of them left, one of them ruling all the connected land, the other ruling the oceans and islands. Each wanted to defeat their opponent, but had sworn a truce at the beginnings of the wars to never fight. And people in those days honoured a deal to the end."

"However, there were exceptionally intelligent people in each of those societies who spent their lives studying the truce. What they discovered was a terrible loophole that both sides worked hard to exploit. It stated that they would only attack each other if someone encroached onto the other's land. What this meant was that if the ocean dwellers found a way to cover the world in water, they could attack the land dwellers, and vice-versa."

"In those days, Pokémon did not exist. Instead the animals that we only discover in history books were alive and well. However, creatures that were ancient even then lay hidden throughout the world, embodying the baser aspects of nature, though the people alive at the time didn't know this. Instead they worshipped them, revered them as gods for the great powers they were supposed to have. Of course, the two armies were desperate. Desperate enough to search for their gods. Desperate enough to find them."

"The land dwellers searched in the mountains for years and discovered a cave buried deep within a volcano. Inside they found a towering red beast sleeping, each slow breath driving the lava that surrounded it and pushing the continents. The ocean dwellers spent their time combing the vast sea floor, eventually finding a trench that tore through the ground, and inside that trench slumbered a great blue creature, its breaths creating currents that swirled through the waters."

"Now having discovered their gods were real beings, the civilisations spent all their time working on awakening them from their dormant state, finally releasing them from their caves and onto the surfaces of the world. The primal energies of the volcano beast, whom they named Groudon, started to increase the speed of the lava in the earth. The land began to split apart and columns of lava erupted from the gaps, beginning to boil the seas. In contrast, the ocean beast, named Kyogre, transformed pure energy into water and created heavy rains that tried to flood the lands. The two civilisations made a mistake though. The beings couldn't be controlled and fought between themselves, ignoring any attempts to give them orders."

"The bizarre battle between Groudon and Kyogre raged for 40 days and 40 nights, each trying to control the ratio of land and sea. By the time the waters fully receded the civilisations had been almost entirely wiped out. Those that remained wrote nothing about whatever had stopped the fighting of Kyogre and Groudon, merely stating their fight ended and they returned to the caves where they had been found. "

"The people that survived burned all the knowledge they had of those locations, their technology having been destroyed by the great fight. After that though, there are practically no records. It's as though they simply did not exist after that fight. However, the records that do exist suggest they awakened again and fought their battle, wiping out most of civilisation and causing us to rebuild from scratch every time. The animals adapted far better than we did, becoming the Pokémon we know today in order to survive. Some scholars believe that we are in the tenth age of this event occurring and our technology is nearing or even exceeding that of the original civilisation."

"However, with the strange weather, such as this fog, that's been occurring lately there are those who believe that Kyogre and Groudon are beginning to awaken once more. And that is all I know" Mr. Briney finally concluded as the boat began to slow. It came to a complete stop, though all that was visible through the glass was a dense whiteness.

"Welcome to Dewford Island" the sailor said brightly "I'll be waiting here for whenever you want to set sail again."

"Thank you sir" Eris said as he queasily removed himself from the wall, the constant bouncing of the ship as it travelled having not agreed with him in the slightest "The story was excellent and informative and you allowing me to continue using your craft is much appreciated" he said as he slid open the door and stepped out onto the deck, vanishing inside the wall of white in an instant.

"Give me a sandstorm over this nightmare any day" Eris muttered to himself as he attempted to feel his way through the fog. Though the sand beneath his feet reminded him of home, the sensations that covered the rest of his body shot that idea down in flames, flames that were immediately snuffed out by the cold wetness of the air surrounding him. His extended hands eventually met the soft grain of smoothed wood, and after another few minutes of searching he found a door and knocked on it. It opened and he was suddenly pulled inside and thrown in front of a roaring fire. It was only then he noticed how wet his clothes really were.

As his clothing dried he took in his surroundings. One of the walls was covered with fishing rods of various makes and sizes, another had shelves bolted onto it holding hooks and baits. Adorning the space above the fire were fish, each clearly labelled with its size, weight and date of capture. The strangest thing though was the wall that surrounded the door.

It was plastered with paraphernalia that advertised, as far as Eris could gather, pirate themed getaways and adventure holidays. Directly above the door was a strange A, seemingly created out of bones. Eris looked at the man who had dragged him inside and was taken aback by his outfit. A striped white and black shirt covered his torso, while a ripped pair of shorts clad his legs. He wore no shoes of any kind, though the salt covering on his feet seemed to make up for it. On his head he wore a blue bandanna that had the same symbol as above the door emblazoned on it, and his left eye was covered by a black patch. His arms and legs, beefy and tanned, only seemed to emphasise the pirate vibe Eris was receiving from him.

"Now, I be loving me water and all, but even I'm not crazy enough to go out in this weather. But I tell ye, the moment this fog lifts it's straight back in those briny waters for me. But o' course, the question be, what be ye doing here?" As he said this he leaned in close to Eris, his fishy breath washing over the boy as Eris was forced to stare into the hideous sight of the man's mouth, black teeth comprising at least half of it.

"I just got dropped off" Eris replied, pushing down the nausea "I'm here challenge the Gym on this island".

"Are ye now? Well I tell ye boy, Brawley ain't one to go down without a tough fight. But given the current weather, you've less sight out here than in Granite Cave. Least that's got some glowy crystals to give ye light to see by. So, seeing as it would be a bad idea to leave, why don't ye stay and I'll sing ye some shanties?"

Eris, seeing that the man was right about having to stay, just closed his eyes and tried to block out the horrific sounds that his host was making.

XXXXXX

"Igneous, it's been a long time since we last talked. Too long some would say. I do hope you have good news regarding our various endeavours."  
"As I am sure you are aware sir, our Grunt was unable to acquire the required parts from the courier. His report suggests that the Slayer interfered with the plan. Tabitha's report that the boy walked into Devon Corp. with the courier backs this claim up."  
"And just what did occur at Devon Corp. Igneous?"  
"Tabitha reports she had a meeting with Mr. Stone regarding Project Royal. The Slayer has been recruited by him to be their field agent. Additionally, she was given access to the Alpha Server, allowing us to intercept information sent to the Slayer. It should hopefully allow us to leave him to do all the work and we can swoop in later."  
"Direct those updates directly to me. I will oversee that project personally."  
"Are you sure sir? Won't that interfere with your other project?"  
"Thank you for your concern Igneous, but I assure you I will be able to balance the two. Project Royal is just as important for us as it is for Charlie. How is the construction of their submarine progressing?"  
"Currently they cannot continue the construction until they receive a new set of parts. Would it be possible to intercept them sir?"  
"Leave the parts themselves Igneous. However, Captain Stern will be opening his Oceanic Museum in a couple of days. I wish you to pay him a visit and persuade him to hand his construction team over to us."  
"Of course sir. I shall require a contingent of Grunts to flood the opening so that no one will interfere."  
"They shall be provided for you. Is there anything else that I need to know?"  
"Not currently sir. I will of course return when I have more information. For the land!"

"For the land!"

XXXXXX

Eris staggered out of the small wooden house, the words of 'Haul away Joe' ringing in his ears. Amazingly the fog had completely vanished from the island, the vibrant trees now bathed in scorching sunlight. He stumbled towards the blue water's edge and turned it yellow for a brief few seconds, before grabbing a bottle out of the side of his backpack and taking a large swig, only to spit it out quickly.

Having washed his mouth out he looked towards the horizon, seeing the azure waters stretch far into the distance, a few small islands dotted here and there. The strangest thing was the sheer amount of tents pitched on the islands, and the swimmers gradually emerging from them, throwing themselves into the sea with wild abandon. He shook his head and turned around, now able to view the island he was on in greater detail.

What shocked him most was that to the east, the HSC Peeko sat no more than ten yards away moored against the small wooden pier. Behind it he could see a vaster expanse of sea; and far in the distance a white dot against the sky. To the south was a sparse scattering of palm trees around the thin sandbar before it too was consumed by the ocean. As he looked along the length of the island he deduced that it couldn't be more than a hundred yards in width. The rest of the space was made up by the length of it, though the entire western end was taken up by large rock protrusions of a deep grey. Not being a geologist, Eris could only assume that it was granite thanks to the words of the fisherman earlier. In between himself and the rocks were only a couple of houses, the other three buildings being the Pokémon Centre, Market and Gym.

He replaced the water and began to walk across the sand towards the Pokémon Market and beyond.

XXXXXX

The grey rocks now loomed menacingly above him, a fracture cutting one of them in half providing access to an inner cave. Eris peered into the crack and the small amount of light that entered the cave was blotted out by his head, allowing a few small crystals inside to illuminate the area a small amount. Further into the cave however there was nothing except the darkness. Eris wished he hadn't lost his torch a while ago, he could find nowhere else that sold them.

Evidently exploring the cave was a lost cause currently- he didn't want to risk getting stuck inside if a wooden torch died. He pulled his head back and started to trudge back to the small town. He hadn't seen anyone who would appear to be Mr. Stone's son anywhere in the town, and he had said his son liked to remain hidden. The cave seemed the only logical option left for him to be. Until he could get in there nothing was going to get delivered. Then in the corner of his eye he noticed movement on the outside of the rocks. Eris turned towards it and saw a man dressed in hiker garb clambering up the rock face.

"Excuse me!" Eris hollered up "I need to ask you something."

The hiker paused in reaching out for the next handhold and reversed his direction, climbing downwards a few feet to reach a small plateau on the rock face "Ask away then!" he shouted back down, not bothered in the slightest that his climbing had been haltered.

"Do you know of any way to light up this cave in order to explore it?"

"Yeah, just light up the crystals. They'll absorb a load of light and then kick it back out again over time, meaning Granite Cave is yours for exploration. Best way to do that is to use Flash. Defeat Brawley and he'll give you a copy" the hiker explained, before resting his hands on the rock face and hauling himself up it.

Eris shouted his thanks back up to the ascending man, receiving a slight inclination of the head in reply. As he walked back across the sands he retrieved his Pokédex from an inside pocket, looking up the data for Flash, inputting his own Pokémon's information at the same time.

_Flash- A status based attack designed to disorientate an enemy Pokémon. The user releases a large amount of energy with the wavelength of visible light, causing temporary blindness and sometimes permanent vision damage in those who witness the attack, thereby reducing their accuracy. Many Pokémon can use the move, however it requires a large amount of energy, meaning Pokémon whose types are primarily concerned with energy and its conversion utilise it best, such as Electric types. The more attuned a Pokémon is to energy conversion the more powerful the effect is, with less energy being used. You currently have two Pokémon capable of using Flash, Skitty and Seedot. However, Flash will be weak and highly energy consuming for both of them._

Eris cursed as the scrolling text finished moving across the screen. He'd been hoping that one of his Pokémon would have been able to use the move efficiently enough to allow him access to the cave relatively quickly. Now he'd have to search for another Pokémon that would be able to. Since there was nowhere to obtain one on the island, he'd have to head back to the mainland. He flicked his PokéNav open and saw that a small area just north of Slateport City looked promising, holding quite a few Electric types.

The white craft sliced through the much calmer waters east of Dewford Island. Thanks to the ride away being far less choppy than the ride there, Eris was able to stay on his feet the entire time. Mr. Briney was once again sat calmly in his chair, watching the ocean speed by. Eris noted the large husk of a liner as they passed it, making it a point to visit it when he had the capability to.

It wasn't long after that that they made landfall on Route 109 or, as it was commonly known as, Slateport Beach. Eris climbed off the ship once again, jumping from the ladder to the sands, and looked at the harbour city in the slowly approaching evening light. The most noticeable thing were the docks on the eastern side, filled with massive cargo ships loading and unloading thousands of metal crates from stone to ship and back again.

Despite the docks dominating the eastern side of the city, they failed to draw the entirety of Eris' attention. Instead, an explosively colourful market somehow beat out the ships for the level of noise with no end to it in sight. Eris wouldn't have been surprised if it covered over half the city. It was to this market that he found himself attracted to, though more specifically, it was to what he suspected lay unseen inside the market that he was attracted to. Hopefully he could procure some services that were… less than hospitable to the law.

He began to walk up the beach, passing many children gleefully playing in the warm sand, with their parents reclined under large parasols or atop beach towels, some of them starting to call their children back to their side in order to go home. One such girl had both her hands tightly clenched, one onto her mother's hand and the other around the drawstring of a small purple bag which, as Eris watched with mild interest, slipped out and fell onto the beach. Neither the girl nor her mother noticed, nor did any of the other beach goers seem to care enough to tell them. Eris shrugged and altered his path accordingly, picking the bag up from the ground. If the girl wasn't observant enough to notice it was missing she shouldn't deserve to have it in his eyes.

He opened the bag and felt around inside, marvelling at how soft the sand was, especially compared to the sands he'd known his entire life. He pocketed the bag and continued up the beach towards the market, though he was distracted by a small hut that squatted on the edge of the divide. The sign across the top of the doorframe proclaimed it was a battle house, with free Soda Pops available for anyone who was able to beat every Trainer inside.

Perhaps he would revisit it after his latest capture. It would probably be good experience for his newest team member. For the moment though, he'd need to get someone on his side and a place to sleep for the night.

He stepped off the sand onto the concrete that Slateport City was built on, the change in traction instantly noticeable. The market was spread before him like a riot of noise and colour, even this late in the day. The road in between him and his destination was clogged with cars homeward bound, and it was through them he weaved as he moved unerringly towards the market.

The one thing that had always impressed him about street markets such as these was how determined and targeted the vendors were. When you were the market's outer limits you were ignored by all but the most tenacious of sellers. The moment you were inside everything changed. Suddenly you were assaulted from every direction by people yelling at you to buy their items. Most of them crap, all of them expensive, only a determined individual was capable of making it out of there with their wallet intact, or at least with the smallest possible dent in it.

Eris was one of these individuals, headed directly for the centre of the maze of stalls and huts. The calls from men and women advertising their products fell on deaf ears. There was only one product he was here for, and for that he would need to reach the centre before it was too late.

One foolish man stepped out in front of Eris and grabbed his arm, thinking it would be a better tactic than simply shouting at the boy. He quickly learnt his mistake as he watched the boy's feet beating the exact same rhythm on the concrete he now found himself lying on. The strange thing was he could no longer feel anything below his elbow. And what was all the screaming about? He looked downwards at his elbow and saw a neat white shard protruding from it, with a small pool of red starting to gather beneath it. As his brain finally registered that the white was bone, he found himself thinking that bone shouldn't be on the outside of the body, and that his arm shouldn't really be pointing that way. Then the pain slammed into him like a truck and he lost consciousness.

Eris ignored the screams coming from behind him. The man should have recognised he had somewhere to go and not gotten in his way. Ultimately it was his own fault he was now the proud owner of a shattered elbow. Fortunately, word spread quickly and no one else tried to stop him as he continued to navigate through the maze. Eventually he saw the hut he wanted, and walked inside.

The hut was barren, seeming unoccupied if not for the morose man stood leaning on the counter. When he saw Eris enter his face lit up and his voice filled with enthusiasm.

"Welcome valued customer. What it is you wish to purchase this fine evening?"

Eris didn't answer right away, instead pulling a small holder out of one of his inside pockets, flipping it open to reveal several business cards. He plucked one of them out and purposefully placed it on the counter, sliding it towards the man.

"I'm not here to purchase anything" Eris said evenly "My business is interested in making an investment with you."

The man's eyes flicked to the card and then back to Eris before replying, choosing his words carefully "I would be honoured at the prospect of our businesses forming a partnership. Why don't we step into the back room and discuss this further?"

The man lifted part of the counter and Eris stepped through the gap, following him into the back room. As he did so he could hear small clicks as firearms were switched back to safety mode now that he'd passed the test. The man sat down at a small desk and gestured for Eris to sit in the other chair. The moment he was seated he began to talk.

"I need an agent to locate and acquire information on the group calling themselves 'Magma' as soon as possible. I'll pay half up front, the rest when they give me the information in a week. Extra if they manage to dig up anything else I deem useful afterwards if they still want the work. I want your best guy on this."

"That's going to be one hell of a pay check. You sure you can cover it?" the man sitting across from him mused. In reply Eris slid another card across the table, this one punched through in a few places. It took the man a few seconds to decipher the meaning of the card, and when he did his eyes bulged as he realised the value in the card and the danger the child across from him posed.

"I know your man's prices. Tell him he gets the second card when he completes the task. I also know he can hear every word of this, so don't try to hide that card. He might get… upset if you did." Eris left the warning hanging as he stood up from the table. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you" Eris threw back over his shoulder while walking through the main body of the hut.

The night sky now hung heavily over the city, though this did nothing to deter the noise coming from the docks far over the other side of the town. Eris walked calmly through the opposite side of the market as the minutes ticked by and the moon climbed gradually higher. When he was finally out of the labyrinth of stalls he continued northwards, searching for a suitable place to camp for the night. He eventually found it in an abandoned warehouse slated for demolition near to a housing district. One of the sides had a large tear in the metal, and through it Eris walked into the warehouse. He climbed one of the ladders up to the catwalks, making sure that the entire section wouldn't fall through before throwing down his sleeping equipment and lying on top of it, drifting off to sleep despite the ships booming their horns out into the night.

Eris woke to a bright shaft of sunlight piercing through the roof of the warehouse and stabbing at his eyes. He shoved his arm in front of his face and rolled off of his bag onto the metal grill. A few minutes later he was stood back outside the warehouse in the early morning and began to walk northwards towards Route 110.

The rest of the city was just starting to wake up as he made his way through the streets, watching as they slowly filled with commuters on their way to various workplaces, most of them travelling south-east towards the shipyards and docks. Soon the houses fell away and the concrete was slowly replaced by a dirt track. Looking forwards Eris saw the tall power generators of Mauville City on the horizon, the white metal of Cycling Road spanning the distance between him and the city. Underneath that was an oozing swamp, air bubbles appearing randomly in the green sludge.

Eris turned towards the grass and looked at the Pokéballs attached to his belt, selecting Aurelia to flush a Pokémon out. She rushed into the grass and Eris watched as the slight rustling made its way towards him. Suddenly an almost five foot tall green Pokémon with yellow stripes shot out of the grass at Eris, traveling faster than he could follow. Acting purely on instinct he stuck a leg out and felt it jar as the Pokémon smashed into it. He watched it somersault through the air and skid a few yards further.

When it turned around it was seriously pissed, snarling at Eris as it launched itself at him. Thankfully, Aurelia rocketed from behind him and knocked the beast away.

"Thanks for having my back" he told her. She turned and seemed to flash a small grin back at him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of green moving quickly in their direction.

"Watch out!" Eris yelled, but Aurelia reacted too slowly and the Pokémon retaliated with a harsh tackle of its own. She rolled over on the ground and the Pokémon saw an opportunity, rushing in to hit her hard. Somehow she managed to dodge and the Pokémon flew past her. Unfortunately for it, Aurelia decided to give it some payback and sharply head-butted it as it moved past.

It spun, one of its legs quivering slightly under the pressure of its body. It opened its mouth and a short sharp bark emanated, a slight yellow bolt of energy accompanying it. The bolt struck Aurelia and she found she couldn't move. Eris saw this battle couldn't go on any longer and grabbed a Pokéball out of a side pocket of his bag, throwing it towards the green Pokémon as he rushed towards Aurelia.

"It's okay, you've just suffered a slight paralysis of your muscles. It's not life threatening and I can easily fix it" Eris told the immobilised Zigzagoon as he began to apply pressure to certain points on the Pokémon's body. He glanced over to where the Pokéball now lay, dormant and waiting, and went to retrieve it. As he picked it up he also returned Aurelia, now mobile, to her own ball.

He clicked the ball open and the green Pokémon emerged, its back leg still slightly limp. Eris flipped open a pocket on his bag and pulled out a Potion, kneeling to tend to the wound.

"I don't need your help" the Pokémon snapped at him, recoiling from the spray nozzle.

"Suit yourself then. Just know that I won't be putting you back in the ball as long as your leg is screwed" Eris told the creature matter-of-factly.

"Like I even need to be here" it scoffed "See you around loser." It started to walk away at a bizarre pace, three of its legs trying to move at its original speed while the fourth lagged behind horribly. The Pokémon however found its way barred by Alex, who launched into the shocking tirade of why the Pokémon couldn't leave. Eris meanwhile was busy looking up its Pokédex entry.

_Electrike- The Lightning Pokémon. Electrike are capable of moving faster than the human eye can follow, often being mistaken for a trick of the light. This ability has made it typically difficult to capture and train, only staying with those that it feels are worthy of owning it. Additionally, scientists researching energy generation are consistently attempting to obtain it in order to study its near perpetual energy generation. The friction generated by its running is converted into electricity, which is then used to stimulate its leg muscles and increase its running speed. Electrike store this energy in its fur when it is not needed, using it to add additional power to its Electric type attacks. This specimen is male._

"Just because I have to stay with you doesn't mean I'm going to like it" the Electrike told him sourly.

Eris shrugged "I don't care if you don't like it. You're here now and it's where you're staying. The only issue I'm having is what to call you."

"Bolt" the Electrike cut across "Bolt is all I'm going to go by."

"Well then, welcome to the team Bolt."

* * *

_**A/N: **Next part we will be cleaning up a few things around Slateport and challenging Brawley. If all goes well it'll be going up during this next week, along with our second interlude._


	15. Chapter 2: Part 3- Brawly

_**A/N:** __Unfortunately this part is much shorter than the other two, but there isn't a lot in the this part of the game that I can adapt, and I wanted to get this Chapter finished because I hate how short it is. Fortunately, from here on out the story gets far more action, as anyone who has played the games will know. Rate, review and enjoy. Disclaimer- I do not own Pokémon in any way. That right belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak. I do however own Eris and anyone else who does not appear in the games._

* * *

The door to the beach hut slammed open, Macadamia and Bolt leaping through the gap. In the centre of the room was a large pool of water in which two other Pokémon were battling, their sailor owners yelling orders at them, though the battle was quickly broken up by a hail of seeds shooting out of Macadamia's mouth. To make matters worse Bolt was sprinting around the room, disrupting the rest of the occupants. The Pokémon in the pool had taken such a pummelling from Macadamia they floated to the surface unconscious.

Some of the many seeds had ricocheted around the room, their speed allowing them to puncture the roof, the small perforations letting it thin shafts of sunlight onto the acorn, causing it to glow bright white and elongate; gaining another three feet of height and a heavily protruding nose as he head started to become rounded. Her legs became thicker and arms appeared from the sides of her steadily growing body.

When the light faded her new features were clearly defined, most prominently the large coverings around her new knees. Both these and the area around her eyes was a lighter brown than the rest of her new form. As everyone inside the hut watched, a leaf rapidly grew out of the top of her head.

The only person not watching Macadamia's evolution was Bolt, who had decided to use the distraction to attack the rest of the patrons without them realising. Despite not liking the situation he was now stuck in, he seemed to revel in the destruction he could cause. It only took a couple of seconds for them all to be on the floor, surrounded by their unconscious Pokémon, while Bolt stood proudly in the centre of the chaos, though his legs shook slightly.

"Easy" he panted "Leaf Girl wasn't even needed so why'd you send her in?" he asked, turning towards the doorframe upon which Eris now leant.

"Everyone needs experience Bolt. Even you. Your attack pattern was horribly inefficient and time consuming" Eris replied, a smirk on his face.

"Like you could have done any better. Just make these guys pay us so we can leave."

Eris pushed himself off of the frame and walked inside, targeting the largest of the sailors in the place, who was on the ground near to a dispensing machine.

"By the sign outside, I reckon you owe me a case of Soda Pop."

"But, you cheated" the sailor protested "Those weren't sanctioned battles!"

Eris shrugged "Can you deny that I've thoroughly beaten everyone in this joint? Yourself included. Because by my eyes, there's no one left standing apart from me and my Pokémon. To not give me my prize would surely constitute false advertising, which if I recall correctly is illegal and might just see your establishment shut down. I'm going to go analyse my newly evolved Pokémon and I expect you to have that case ready for me." Eris turned away from the man, signalling Bolt to watch him, which the Pokémon did begrudgingly, more for the fear in the sailor's eyes every time he growled than anything else.

Eris meanwhile was levelling his Pokédex at Macadamia, who was trying to get used to the new feeling of having arms.

_Nuzleaf- The Wily Pokémon. Nuzleaf are well known tricksters, preferring to hide in the shadows than face others directly. In favour of this it lives in dense forests where it is difficult for people to find it. Occasionally it will venture outside its forest home to scare people for fun. Its favourite way of doing this is to pluck the leaf from its head and use it as a whistle, playing haunting music to unnerve the person. It is a highly skilled musician, capable of replicating any sound perfectly with its leaf. Due to this property it is used in orchestras as a backup player. It also possesses strange psychic abilities, though it suffers a large weakness in its long nose. If too much pressure is applied to the nose its powers are instantly diminished to the point of helplessness, making it largely useless in close quarters battles._

Eris put his Pokédex away and sighed, his Pokémon now being more useless than it was before. He returned her to her ball and walked back over to the sailor who, under the guidance of Bolt, had retrieved a six pack of Soda Pops from the nearby wreckage, which Eris graciously accepted once he was sure none of them were damaged. He recalled Bolt, stored the drinks and walked back outside onto the beach, heading straight for the white boat floating in the waters.

Eris spent the entirety of the short journey back to Dewford contemplating how he would tackle Brawly, the wind whipping through his hair as he stood on the deck. Thanks to Macadamia's evolution he was left with only two Pokémon who could take on Brawly's Fighting types safely. And one of them was Bolt. Perhaps he could start the battle out with Bolt and then switch to Alex. It would stop Bolt getting too cocky and tiring himself out, but it would also stop him getting more battle experience. Alex should be able to defeat Brawly on his own, but Eris didn't want to run that risk. He juggled the strategies in his head, evaluating the positives and negatives of each, until he felt the craft slow to a stop.

He took his hands off the railing and rubbed the back of his head, still struggling with how he was going to tackle the Gym. There was one option he hadn't considered, an option that might just work if everything went right. He climbed down the ladder and walked purposefully towards the Gym, grabbing one of his Pokéballs and rolling it in his hand as he did so.

He pushed the door open and the sounds of physical exertion reached his ears. As he looked around he saw people sparring with each other in every corner of the room, others targeting bags, pummelling them with flurries of punches and kicks. In the centre of the room was a boxing ring, where a trainer and his Pokémon, a squat yellow creature with oversized black fists, were fighting.

_Makuhita- The Guts Pokémon. Makuhita is exceptionally tenacious; a staunch believer in the philosophy of getting back up every time it falls down. It will only stay down when it has been knocked unconscious. It will train for years, pushing its body to the absolute limits in order to strengthen both body and spirit. Even in the direst of situations Makuhita never gives up hope, making it a symbol of inspiration for underdogs. Every time it is hit it takes some of the energy and stores it internally, eventually using it to evolve. This specimen is male and belongs to Marquis Brawly._

Deducing from his Pokédex that the trainer in the ring was Brawly Eris called out.

"Lord Brawly of Dewford, I am here to challenge you for your badge."

Activity in the Gym stopped immediately, everyone now interested in how this was going to play out. Inside the ring Brawly bumped one of his fists with his Makuhita and walked to the edge, grabbing a towel that hung on the ropes and threw it around his neck.

"Come on man, titles and shit like that don't matter. If you want to fight me then get in the ring and let's fight."

Eris was stunned by the nonchalant reaction, and what the Gym Leader was proposing.

"You want me to fight you personally?" he asked.

Brawly grinned. He loved surprising people with that twist.

"Of course I do. Why should our Pokémon do all the fighting? It doesn't mean shit if we can't protect ourselves when they're not around" Brawly explained "Now, if you want to go through with this you gotta know the rules. You and me fight in the ring while our Pokémon fight in the same ring. Max two Pokémon each, and if any of them goes out of the ring they're out. If me or you go out of the ring, we lose. First one to knock out all of their opponent's Pokémon or their opponent wins. You still want to go, or are you gonna bail?"

Eris swallowed, hoping that he could win this fight on the Pokémon side before Brawly knocked him out. He knew he had no chance of taking the guy head on since he was built for this sort of combat, whereas Eris was more suited to taking out his enemies with weaponry in his hands, or without them knowing he was there at all. They were two very different styles, and unfortunately for Eris this battle was using the unfavourable one. He had to take the risk though.

"I accept your terms Lord Brawly" Eris said as he removed his trench-coat and climbed up into the ring, still clutching onto the Pokéball. Brawly gestured to his Makuhita, who stepped outside the ring, and produced his own Pokéball from the pocket of his shorts.

"Machop, surf's up!" he cried, releasing the bipedal grey Pokémon into the ring. It stood as tall as Brawly, but seemed far less bulky.

_Machop- The Superpower Pokémon. Most of Machop's body is comprised of ultra-dense muscle. This allows it to easily lift and throw exceptionally heavy weights. Testing has revealed that without training it can lift weight equivalent to 100 average adult males, or 17,600 lb, with difficulty. When trained to its peak its punches can be close to 1 meganewton of force. Because of the danger they pose to other Pokémon, they constantly restrain themselves in battle. It has to have an advanced circulatory system; otherwise it would not be able to sustain its muscles. However, because a lot of its energy is focused on its muscles it tires quickly in fights. For this reason it will try to end a fight as rapidly as possible. This specimen is male and belongs to Marquis Brawly._

Brawly had readied himself in a fighting stance and was waiting for Eris to release his Pokémon.

"There's one thing I forgot to tell you. To better train ourselves, we fight in darkness." As he said this the lights shut off, leaving Eris blinded. He flicked his hand and for a brief moment the room was illuminated as Eris sent out his Pokémon, a heavy thump next to him being the only confirmation that it was even in the ring.

Eris tried to centre himself, waiting for Brawly to make the first move. He was poised on the balls of his feet, listening for the slightest noise that could warn him of his opponent approaching. He heard a couple of fast paced taps to his right, and threw himself backwards just in time to avoid a fist whistling through the space where his face used to be. He continued to move around the ring in a circular fashion, desperate to avoid Brawly's punches.

"Alright Bolt, you've got to do as I say right now, otherwise you're going to be hurt badly" Eris called out "Start running around the area. Avoid his Pokémon at all- shit!" Eris was cut off as a leg swept him onto the ground and he was forced to roll madly to avoid the flurry of punches that followed. Fortunately Bolt had decided running was a good idea and the electricity building up in his fur started to illuminate the area weakly.

Eris saw Brawly approaching and placed his hands on the canvas behind his head, pushing off of them to throw him back onto his feet. He then continued forwards, using the momentum generated to deliver a solid punch to Brawly's jaw. It did nothing to faze his adversary though, who replied in kind with a rapid jab, forcing Eris to duck and retreat back. Meanwhile, Brawly's Machop was having no luck in apprehending Bolt, who suddenly charged the Pokémon.

The Machop was prepared however and grabbed Bolt as he charged, being pushed back and heavily shocked, but it held strong and threw Bolt behind itself, smashing him down onto the canvas. The lights cut out once more as the electricity dissipated from Bolt's fur, and Eris was reduced to having to watch out for Brawly by ear.

"Man, you're such a kook. Fight back more" Brawly complained, advancing once more to Eris' position. Deciding to comply with his wishes, Eris waited until he heard the whistle of displaced air and then spun around behind Brawly. From there he smashed his foot into the back of Brawly's knee and brought one leg crashing to the ground.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Brawly exclaimed "That move was radical. You flowed out of my attack and into your own, just like a wave. The thing about waves though, is they always come back!" With that Eris felt a foot impact his diaphragm and he was knocked backwards, struggling to breathe.

"Bolt, use Spark again" he managed to cough out in between trying to recover his breath. Bolt started to run again, building up electricity, before launching himself not at the Machop, but at Brawly. The electrified Pokémon collided with the Gym Leader and sent him flying into his Machop, knocking it clear out of the ring and knocking Brawly into the ropes. Soon afterwards a voice filled the room, now lit as electricity still crackled through Bolt's fur.

"Challenger, attacking your opponent with your Pokémon is illegal. You shall be disqualified from obtaining the Knuckle Badge."

"No he won't" Brawly said, as he lifted himself off the ropes, his arm suffering from spasms thanks to the Spark attack.

"What do you mean Brawly? He broke the rules!"

Brawly shook his head "No he didn't. His Electrike simply exploited a hole in the rules I laid out. Battle with Pokémon in the ring and you run the risk of getting hit. Though I wasn't expecting to get so wiped out if it ever did happen. Makuhita, let's ride a wave to victory!"

The yellow Pokémon jumped back into the ring and smashed its fists together. Now Eris was getting a close look he realised that it was only about three feet tall, but the excess fat more than made up for its lack of height. It started to run towards Eris and Bolt, who shared a look, and was halfway to the pair before Bolt threw himself on top of it, releasing the rest of the energy in his fur into the Pokémon. It slumped to the floor as the darkness consumed the ring for the third time.

"Use Bulk Up Makuhita" Brawly called out from the other side of the ring, his fight with Eris forgotten.

"Bolt, discharge small amounts of energy so we can see what's happening."

The Electrike surprisingly complied and began to flash every half second. Through the flashes Eris saw the Makuhita growing steadily larger with each of its breaths. Suddenly its oversized fists were no longer oversized. Instead they were in proportion with a hulking monstrosity that covered over half of the ring. It stood up and Bolt tumbled off of its stomach onto the canvas. The Makuhita raised a giant foot to stomp on Bolt, but for some reason it didn't bring it down. It seemed to be stuck, unable to move.

"Bolt!" Eris yelled "It's paralysed! Hit it now and bring it down to earth."

Bolt scrambled up off the canvas, backpedalling away from the Makuhita in case it recovered and smashed him into the floor. When it still didn't move he howled a long, proud howl of victory and hurled himself at the beast, striking it right in the chest. Thanks to having one foot in the air it was horribly off balance and crashed down with enough force to knock itself out when it hit the canvas. The moment it impacted the lights snapped back on and the Trainers flooded back into the main room.

Eris watched as all the energy left the body of the Pokémon and it shrunk back to its normal size. It tried to stand back up, but it simply didn't have the energy and slumped back down, unconscious. Brawly retrieved its Pokéball from his shorts and returned it, doing the same for his Machop. Eris did the same for Bolt, and the two walked to the centre of the ring.

"You and your Pokémon fought well. More your Pokémon really but I'll let that slide" Brawly said "You beat me without breaking any of the rules I set and so, for the bravery it took to step into the ring, determination you showed while inside and the strength needed to win, I present you with the Knuckle Badge!"

Brawly handed Eris the small piece of metal, stylised to look like a boxing glove. The entirety of it was bright blue apart from the thumb, which was a garish orange. He slotted it into the bracelet before putting his trench-coat back on and pulling his TM case out of it.

"You're ahead of me now" Brawly laughed "In addition to that sweet badge, you also get Flash and this TM for Bulk Up. Use it to boost both your power and resilience. Laugh at your foes who can't scratch you before knocking them into next week with a single strike. It's a great little move that we can all learn from."

"Thank you Lord Brawly. It was enjoyable battling you" Eris replied.

"You gotta stop with the lord crap. I'm just Brawly, and right now, it's the best time to catch some serious waves. I could just surf on you though. I've got a feeling you're gonna be a huge wave who's gonna make a massive splash. See you around."

With that Brawly walked out of the Gym, the rest of the patrons following him out the door and to the water's edge. Eris flicked his wrist, admiring the new addition to his badge bracelet, before covering it with his sleeve. He got his PokéNav out and plucked Flash from his TM case, slipping it inside the disk drive.

"Let's go spelunking."

* * *

_**A/N: **Next up in Balance is the second Interlude. This one will be focused on Charlie Stone and the development of Devon Corp.. That should hopefully be going up within the week. I'd also like to thank Daicha for following this story._


	16. Interlude- The Development of Devon

_**A/N: **To those of you who aren't five or more hours behind me, I apologise for not getting this out before the week ended. I've been quite busy the past few days and haven't found time to write. I also apologise in advance for all the italic text here and in every even numbered Interlude, as they are all going to take the form of books written by a character in the story, each explaining a little bit more of the lore. Rate, review and enjoy. Disclaimer- I do not own Pokémon in any way. That right belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak. I do however own Eris and anyone else who does not appear in the games._

* * *

Charlie Stone sat at his desk, the sunlight streaming through the floor length windows behind him, a small sheaf of papers in front of him. He reached out with his left hand and grabbed hold of his mug, taking a long drink of the lukewarm tea inside. Putting the mug back down on the wooden surface he picked his pen up and scanned the first sheet, before signing it and placing it in a drawer situated below his desk. He continued in this fashion until the stack had been reduced to nothing and he put the pen back down, leaning back in the chair as he stretched.

When he returned to the desk he reached down and opened a second drawer, this time pulling blank sheets of paper out and started to write on them.

_The Development of Devon_

_The Devon Corporation, providers of the Hoenn region's Pokémon based needs, was not always such a company. Indeed, our beginnings are a far cry from the multi-billion dollar company we are today. I write this book as not only an informational tome, but an inspirational one as well. I hope that those who read this book are themselves inspired to pursue what they love, expand their boundaries and innovate beyond what they think possible, as my family has done._

_The story of the Devon Corporation begins with my great-grandfather who, like his father and his father before him, was a tin miner on the Kanto coast, working for the recently established Silph Company. He was taken into the mines by his father as soon as he was thought old enough, and quickly proved himself to be efficient and persistent._

_He continued to work for the Silph Company until he was eighteen, when he decided to leave home after his grandfather died. He travelled across the border into Johto and settled in Olivine City, creating the Stone Mineral Mining Corporation with his earnings and the small amount of money that his grandfather had left him. The mines produced iron and copper, which they then exported through the steadily expanding Silph Company into Kanto._

_One day while he was in the mines a fellow miner approached him, holding a rock he hadn't seen before. He travelled to Pewter City, well famed for being expert geologists, to show them the rock, which turned out to be a fossil of an ancient Pokémon species that had been extinct._

_My great-grandfather was fascinated that a phenomenon to preserve dead creatures existed and began to research everything he could about it. The people in Pewter City paid a lot for the fossil, and my grandfather returned to the mines with his pockets significantly weightier and a promise of bonuses for anyone who discovered fossils while mining. Suffice to say, production of his primary exports increased exponentially as miners searched for fossils, tearing through the resources available under the earth. As promised my great-grandfather delivered the bonuses, making him one of the most loved men to work for in the region._

_By the time my grandfather was born, causing his mother's death during child birth, my grandfather's company had spread to the rest of Johto, exploiting every single pocket of ore they could. My great-grandfather rarely spoke about his wife after her death and soon passed away himself. My grandfather, following in his father's footsteps, sold the company to Silph and moved on to greener pastures to create a new company._

_Before he left from the port of Vermillion he went to Pewter and bought the first fossil back from them. That same fossil still hangs today on my wall, a testament to our creation. Also from Pewter City he was able to bring some of their top scientists, persuading them with the chance to discover new fossils… and a larger paycheck!_

_They travelled for a great number of days, journeying southwards. They settled briefly on the then unnamed Floe Island, intrigued by the area that we now know as Icefall Cave. Unfortunately for them, they discovered no fossils in the ice, though a strange piece of ice that failed to melt after they had left in the sun amazed my grandfather. He returned to the cave and collected more of it, storing it for future use._

_After they had finished with Floe Island they journeyed around the rest of the islands, which they dubbed the Sevii Archipelago- despite there being nine islands, only seven were deemed habitable. They finally settled permanently on Quest Island, a further group would later bring more people to the archipelago to populate the rest of it, though that can be learnt in more detail in Doctor Winston's "The Creation of the Regions". It is quite the anthropological read and I greatly recommend it. However, the purpose of this is not to provide you with more reading material, instead it is to educate you in a few specific matters in the hopes that you will then pursue further information on your own._

_During his time on the Sevii Islands, my grandfather fell in love with one of the defectors from Silph and with her conceived my father; it is with him that this story really starts. He grew up with an extremely educated mother whom was easily able to answer any questions he had, though she chose not to know in order to foster his sense of adventure and discovery. His father helped this by taking his son with him on his various excursions to the other islands, allowing my father to explore ancient ruins while he studied the rocks. Though my grandfather was still enraptured by fossils, his interest had steadily grown into researching the past in its entirety, but he confined himself to it geologically. His findings are presented later in this book. My father on the other hand immersed himself in mythology._

_Upon my father's eighteenth birthday, he carried out the somewhat family tradition and left my grandfather, wishing to seek his fortune in another land. He took with him nothing but the essentials and two personal items: the fossil and the mysterious ice. Much of his generation followed him away from the archipelago to start a new life. Like him they were well versed in various sciences thanks to their parents, and had the knowledge they needed to survive thanks to their upbringing. Westwards they travelled until they reached the Hoenn region, first making landfall on Mossdeep Island._

_Over time they were joined by other emigrants from the Johto and Kanto regions and the societies that we have today began to form. Once again, refer to "The Creation of the Regions" for a greater understanding of how this happened. What is important is what my father did personally after making landfall. He travelled across the new region, finding ancient ruins as he went, until he finally arrived at a great rock formation. His father's immense interest in geology had rubbed off on my father and he elected to found a city at the site. The only problem was he didn't think it practical to construct one on top of the plateau, so he made, to him, the only obvious choice- mine the rocks out entirely and use it to construct the city. Within ten years Rustboro was born and he sought to further his ambitions._

_Having kept in touch with the other two regions by way of a Swellow he had befriended, he learnt of the developments in Pokémon battling, in particular the Pokéball created by the mysterious Celestial Industries. Of course, it was only a prototype but my father still wished to look into it and sought a meeting with Professors Blaine and Daniels, the head researchers at the Silph Company at the time. Eventually he obtained the meeting, though he stayed much longer than originally intended, studying the various special projects they were developing. Despite all this none of the three were able to figure out precisely how the Pokéball functioned, the near instantaneous matter to energy transformation in such a small space and with no visible power source breaking fundamental laws of physics. To this day we do not know how they function, and only recently have we been able to replicate the technology in a slight form with the Pokémon Storage System._

_After my father had finished his stint at Silph, he realised that to truly keep up with the world he would have to create a company of his own that would cater to this new region, just as Silph provided whatever Kanto and Johto needed in regards to the latest technologies. With this dream in mind he returned to Rustboro City and created the building in which I now write these words. The name was settled, almost by some cosmic coincidence, by the fossil that started the entire journey. He discovered that it hailed from the Devonian period, so named as the first fossils found that held a similar timescale were supposedly discovered in a place known as Devon, though this place no longer exists under that name._

_Indeed, my father only discovered this information due to his fascination with mythology and ancient ruins. One such place hidden in the Dragonfall Mountains, known to most people as Meteor Falls, was a vast library of texts, suggesting there were those who preceded us. It was also here that he discovered the first mentions of the nature gods Groudon and Kyogre, and soon this information had spread like wildfire across the region and was commonly accepted into everyone's lives. However, it was not the tale itself that impressed my father, it was the details. He was amazed by the sheer power that Kyogre was said to have wielded, with massive energy to matter conversions seeming easy to it. He wished to achieve that kind of power for the region, wishing to propel them into an era of essentially free energy._

_First though, my father had to deal with the increasing situation regarding the Pokémon battling scene, which was quickly starting to become a popular idea with many of the inhabitants of the region. His primary focus was to become a needed individual with a needed corporation. As only Celestial Industries had the capability to manufacture Pokéballs, and Silph were more interested in Pokémon evolutionary research and experimental technologies, he realised that there was little medical care available, something that would be important if the proposed idea of Pokémon Leagues went ahead. Evidently he was smart to think such a thing, as the competitive scene exploded over in Kanto._

_And thus the first research at Devon Corp. began, into medical treatments for Pokémon outside of the traditional berries and bed rest. During this research he met his wife, who was an incredibly gifted woman when it came to Pokémon. Together they realised that by reacting various restorative plants together with certain chemical agents they could produce a liquid that caused rapid regeneration of the Pokémon's cells. By combining this with a super fine spray nozzle they could cause it diffuse through the epidermis. Further information regarding this can be found later on in the book, barring the actual formula._

_After recruiting more scientists he was able to perfect the formula and struck a deal with the Silph Corporation that they would provide the Hoenn region with Pokéballs developed by Celestial Industries and in turn Devon Corp. would provide Kanto and Johto with what he dubbed "Potions". Silph readily agreed, and so came about the first major deal between our two companies. Around this time I was born, and as soon as I was old enough I was essentially inducted into the family way, learning as much as possible on my own, with my father taking to me to explore various locations whenever he had the chance._

_Being raised like this granted me certain advantages over others in my generation, primarily the hidden knowledge of the past allowed me to begin forming the future. Shortly after my twentieth birthday my father passed away. The period of mourning was brief, as my father had instructed me it always should be, and I alone scattered his ashes into the winds from atop Skyfire Peak. On my journey back I visited the various towns around the region, informing them of my father's death and my subsequent ownership of the company. While travelling through the desert I discovered a pair of fossils that I chose to bring home with me. Analysis of them revealed to me that they too, like the one on my wall, were of an ancient Pokémon species and I decided there and then that if we could regenerate the cells of living Pokémon, why couldn't we do the same for Pokémon that were preserved?_

_This revelation led to the ongoing research and development of a specialist fluid that can recreate extinct Pokémon from the tiniest scraps of data. More importantly, it led to the development of the genetic engineering division, who stayed quiet for a great many years until Tabitha Wilson flipped the scene upside down with her prodigal brainpower. She alone shaped the entire division and now Devon Corp. produces the necessary materials that allow farmers to genetically modify their crops._

_This wasn't the only development going on at the time though. I had_ _found myself a wife during my adventures and she soon gave birth to our son and heir of this company. Unfortunately for me she suffered grievous injuries from a Pokémon attack while exploring a strange cave she'd discovered and failed to make it back to Rustboro. This drove me to begin development of Project Distraction, now known as Repel, in order to ensure that such a travesty wouldn't happen again so long as people carried Repel on them. Details on how it functions can be found in later chapters. Obviously this new development allowed another steady stream of income from Silph flow in, finally allowing me to begin enacting my father's dream._

_I first journeyed to a sea cave that lay of off Mossdeep Island, drawn there by rumours that made it sound like it was similar to Icefall Cave, my father having told me stories of it from when he was growing up. I discovered that, at the lowest levels, it was indeed just like Icefall Cave, the strange ice forming here as well. I harvested as much of it as I could over the next few weeks, shipping it back to Rustboro City. At the same time I contacted Mauville City's future Gym Leader Watson, enlisting his help in constructing high power generators._

_Together we created a prototype that functioned perfectly and managed to power the entirety of Mauville City, allowing us to declare it a resounding success and begin the creation of Pokémon Centres. Though the technology to be used in them had already been created by the Silph Corporation, they simply could not meet the power requirements. And so, once more in collaboration with the company that essentially started my own, we created Pokémon Centres across the regions, powering them with Devon Corp. generators and filling them with Silph technology._

_This new introduction into the world of Pokémon battling originally made the fights more ferocious, but over time things subsided as people realised that even though a place to heal their Pokémon back to full fitness existed in almost every town and city, such places did not exist within the wilderness. Finally the dream of having a Pokémon League was realised, and Gym Leaders were quickly being decided upon in each city that required one, and the elite fighting group that posed the final challenge to Trainers was formed. At this point my son was five years old and already fascinated by geology and mythology._

_As this book will hopefully be released after the events have come to pass, I have no qualms about revealing what I have been steadily building Devon Corp. towards these past few years. One day as I was working with a team at Mossdeep Spaceport, I was approached by one Mister Damian Grendel, who informed me that he had urgent information to share. As ever, I was intrigued and followed him to his house._

_There I discovered that his wife had, in her own words, seen the fates of things yet to come. I was sceptic to begin with, but open to the possibility however absurd it seemed. She informed me that dark times were approaching, along with the one to stop them, but only if they could succeed at stopping themselves first. She then said that I would know the one by their deliverance of an item of my own making. After that she did not what the final outcome would be, only that it depended on the Kings of the Elements._

_At the time I had no idea what she was talking about, but now I have a far greater understanding and have targeted specific portions of Devon Corp., such as the PokéNav and mythological studies towards realisation of this goal. I can only hope that people do read this, for it will mean that I, and they, have succeeded in our mission. Now the focus of my company shifts into preparing for the outcome of the things yet to come, which we will not know. And if the things yet to come turn out poorly, then I can only hope the preparations we have made will be enough._

_The Workings of Potions Including Their Development and How They Interact With Pokémon Biology._

Charlie put the pen down, massaging his wrist to relieve it of the cramp that had developed. He looked long and hard at the few pages he had written, picking the pen back up and adding side notes here and there. Next to the second title he placed Tabitha's name, before shaking his head and crossing it out, replacing it with Nyree Kaufman. He then began to write out a short list of other chapter titles, attributing a person to each one, each clearly experts in the fields each chapter detailed. The most ostentatious of these was the final chapter, simply titled "The End". The reason it stood out so much was that two names had been attached to it.

Eris Doohan. Steven Stone.

* * *

_**A/N: **Chapter 3 begins this week with Eris exploring Granite Cave. And a new location means a new team member. Hopefully one who is more accommodating than Bolt. _


	17. Chapter 3: Part 1- Granite Cave

_**A/N:** And so Chapter 3 begins. By the end of this part the plot thickens, we meet two very important people and shit hits the fan. Rate, review, enjoy. Feel free to ask questions if you don't understand anything that's happening, I'll gladly explain it in greater detail so long as it doesn't spoil the plot. Disclaimer- I do not own Pokémon in any way. That right belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak. I do however own Eris and anyone else who does not appear in the games._

* * *

Eris strolled into the nearly empty Pokémon Centre, handing Bolt's Pokéball over to the nurse behind the desk without a word before throwing himself down onto one of the sofas in the corner. He grabbed a dangling cable and slipped the end of it into his PokéNav, allowing the video data to be sent to the TV. Soon the tutorial for using Flash was blaring out through the speakers. Eris paused it, waiting until Bolt was fully healed.

In the meantime he went over to the PC situated in the corner, opening the interface and placing his finger on the small pin at the side of the keyboard. Once the machine had read the blood and brought up the password screen Eris furiously typed a short phrase into the input box and mashed the Enter key.

Eris tapped the Deposit option that had appeared on the screen and a small compartment slid open on the main body of the machine just below the keyboard. Eris pulled two Pokéballs off his belt and placed one into the slot. The door slid closed and the entire building hummed as the system processed the information and turned the solid matter into a compact storable form. As Eris watched the screen a small graphic of a Zigzagoon appeared. He repeated the process a second time, the next graphic being of a Nuzleaf.

"We may be a team, but we're only as strong as the weakest link" Eris said to the air as he logged out of the system. He walked back to the desk and took Bolt's Pokéball back from the nurse, sending him out in the middle of the room in order to learn how to use Flash. It wasn't long before he sensed a hot breath on his hand. He glanced down and witnessed Bolt with his mouth open, ready to bite down.

"Bastard" Eris muttered, snatching his hand away from the Electrike's teeth. The only response he received was a series of throaty, sharp barks, almost like laughter. Eris simply rolled his eyes and walked out, knowing that Bolt would have to follow. The Pokémon also rolled its eyes before hurrying to catch up to his master.

The harsh angles of Granite Cave slowly loomed closer as the two stepped across the sands, the heavy grey steadily consuming more of the azure sky until it dominated their vision. Immediately upon reaching it Bolt scurried inside. Eris turned away from the crack, eyes tightly shut with a hand covering them. Despite these precautions, and the fact that it was the middle of the day, the light that erupted from within the cave still managed to leave black spots hovering in front of him.

Once the spots had cleared he entered the cave, astounded at how bright it was in there. The immense light burst had clearly been absorbed by the crystals as they were now glowing with a luminance almost equivalent to his original torch. Thanks to them having grown sporadically around the cave they removed any chance of shadows forming and every last detail in the place was shown thanks to their brilliance.

The craggy walls, curving upwards for no more than 10 feet, were the same darkened grey as the outside, but the floor was a light tan colour thanks to the sand that had blown in covering it. However, in contrast to the harsh angular protrusions that adorned the walls around him, the far wall was completely sheer, making it almost certainly man-made. Eris looked around, recalling Bolt as he did so, and saw a few yards away a hole had been bored through the rock, presumably leading to lower caverns given the ladder bolted into the floor. Behind that was a ledge which, although too sheer and high to climb to, Eris was able to see another ladder bolting.

The hole was quite narrow, forcing Eris to drop his backpack down before entering himself, and through it he could hear the flapping of hundreds of wings and an awful screeching noise. After squeezing himself through the gap he strapped his backpack on and viewed the larger cavern.

Unlike the above room, only the small area around the ladder was tan, the rest of the floor the same grey as the rest of the walls, the crystals here illuminated by the earlier Flash. Cowering under small outcroppings were Pokémon, unaccustomed to the bright light that now flooded the space. The first one he saw, behind the ladder, was a tiny thing, sat uncaring beneath a slight overhang. It was only noticeable due to its steel armour that covered its black body being a far lighter grey than the walls around it. There were a great many holes in the armour, revealing the black body underneath and there was a short blunt spike located above its tailbone. The head was shaped like a rugby ball, two of the six holes in it letting the pale blue eyes see out.

There were others of its species dotted around, some flinching away with every step he took, others too busy eating or fighting to have even noticed him. He looked up and saw the source of the flapping; gossamer purple wings belonging to hundreds of blue bats without eyes that were blindly but accurately making their way in circles near the ceiling, skilfully avoiding the stalactites. Back on the ground he witnessed a few small rocks roll off a raised section, recognising them as Geodude when they steadied themselves with their arms.

He somehow heard a steady pounding coming from somewhere, and located it as a pair of Makuhita fighting it out, their punches almost choreographed. Watching their fight, though as Eris watched it seemed like more of dance, was a yellow Pokémon, about the size of a child. It was propped up against the wall, the eyes on its kite shaped tightly closed but its head moved to track the Makuhita as much as it needed to.

The most bizarre creature he saw was four feet tall; seeming like it wore a yellow dress that covered its entire body. At first it simply seemed human, a young girl lost in the cave perhaps, but then it turned around. Eris hadn't seen it at first due to it being hidden behind the Pokémon and almost blending in with the wall, but attached to the back of its head, was a large set of jaws, almost three feet long. They were pure black apart from a yellow patch near the top, and they bent towards the ground as it they were extremely heavy, though the Pokémon didn't display such traits.

Remembering which Pokémon he'd acknowledged first upon entering the cave, Eris flipped open his Pokédex to obtain information on the rest of them before he captured his target. He started by pointing the device straight up, hoping the sheer numbers of the Pokémon above him wouldn't alter the result.

_Zubat- The Bat Pokémon. Zubat have exceptionally low amounts of melanin present in their skin, meaning that melanogenesis, the process by which ultra-violet radiation is dissipated that requires melanin, cannot be performed efficiently. This is worsened by the pigment that gives it its purple-blue colour, which increases absorption of ultra-violet light. In order to avoid ultra-violet light Zubat will seek shelter under the eaves of houses or, if one is available, caves, in which case Zubat will swarm the cave in great numbers. At night these swarms will emerge and seek prey, using advanced echolocation developed thanks to the avoidance of light. Their four fangs are incredibly sharp and tough. There are too many specimens here to distinguish one in particular, but the approximate ratio of males to females in this group is 2:3._

Bringing the machine back down to the floor he scanned the remaining Pokémon, starting with the bizarre jaw carrying creature in front of him.

_Mawile- The Deceiver Pokémon. Despite the feminine appearance of Mawile, it can be male or female. Either way, it will use this docile façade to lure foes in closer, making them less wary of it, before it viciously attacks them. The jaws located on the back of its head are actually overgrown steel horns. A strange mutation within the DNA of Mawile caused the two horns to merge into one set and weaken the steel structure, allowing the nerves of Mawile to control them. Even after many hours of research, it is still a mystery how the steel is generated. One theory is that Mawile eats iron ores and carbon, somehow fusing them within its body to create the steel. The bite strength of its jaws is easily enough to shatter bones. This specimen is male._

_Abra- The Psi Pokémon. Abra has untapped psychic potential within itself. However, its body is unable to cope with the sheer energy it produces to employ these telekinetic powers, meaning that it needs to stay in a dormant state for many hours. The most accurate way to describe this dormant state is sleep, as the body of Abra experiences effects similar, but its mind does not. The mind of Abra is constantly active, either when using its telekinetic abilities or passively perceiving its surroundings through its psychic abilities, analogous to echolocation, though no noise is generated. When an Abra is approached by something it believes has the chance to threaten it, it will teleport away. Like all Psychic type Pokémon, powers such as this teleportation are not fully understood. This specimen is female._

_Aron- The Iron Armour Pokémon. Aron's name is actually false, as its armour is constructed of steel, an iron and carbon alloy. This makes the armour far tougher than it would be if it was simply iron, allowing it to survive larger impact forces. In order to create and sustain the armour it will dig through the earth, searching for iron and carbon to consume. Additionally, Aron will consume one metal other or group of metals as nourishment, each different specimen preferring a different metal or group. When it evolves the armour is shed, forcing it to eat enough ore to create a new suit. This process takes a few days, making it highly vulnerable until the process has been completed. This specimen's preferred metal or group can be deduced by a geologist or metallurgist and it is male._

Eris flipped the device closed and grabbed the first Pokéball off of his belt, pressing the button to release the Pokémon. However, he'd forgotten that he'd moved them around after storing Macadamia and Thief in the PC, meaning that it was Aurelia who was released onto the rocky floor, her golden coat contrasting heavily with the grey surroundings.

"Shit" Eris said "Aurelia, get back here."

She scampered away from the Aron as Eris examined the other two Pokéballs, selecting Bolt's and releasing the Electrike before holding his arm out near the ground.

"Thanks. I wasn't going to do anything to that guy" she yipped, running up his arm and alighting on his shoulders, curled around the back of his neck. Bolt on the other hand stood tall and proud, staring down at the Aron with disdain.

"Just use Spark on it" Eris told the Electrike, the exasperation evident in his voice.

Unfortunately, to use Spark Bolt had to build up the energy, so Eris was treated to him charging around the room and leaping towards the ceiling, scattering the multitudes of Zubat flapping around up there. The even more unfortunate result of this was that they descended to the floor and swarmed directly onto Eris. Their loud screeches filled his ears, penetrating deep into his skull, and he began to feel some of their fangs start to sink through his coat and into his arm. The one piece of fortune was that they weren't large, only about one to two feet each, and were easily swatted away.

A few quick blows to the ones that had attached themselves to his forearms removed them, and Aurelia helped by swiping at them when they flew too close, but nothing could seem to remove the purple and blue cloud. Eris dropped to one knee in a vain attempt to put some distance between him and the Zubat and was rewarded by having a green blur charge, both physically and electrically, the air where his torso was, the paws mere inches from his hair. The cloud scattered and Bolt landed, clawing at the Aron in an attempt to remove it from under the overhang.

It watched him with mild interest as the paw swiped back and forth, before turning around and biting into the rocks behind it, digging deep into the wall. As Eris watched its armour grew slightly, bringing it just within range of Bolt's paw. The Electrike flicked it out from under the rock and then threw it into the centre, causing it to roll slightly further.

It now squatted closer to the Mawile, still chewing on the metal it had dug out from the wall. Its armour grew once more, the few scratches that were present quickly being removed. Bolt charged it again and again, bouncing it around the room, but the moment it stopped it simply sat down, clearing the scratches on its armour.

Bolt, now exceptionally tired, sat down opposite it and stared deep into its apathetic blue eyes, as though he could defeat it through sheer force of will. As he stared he became slowly aware of sounds coming from his right, and he turned his head to find their source. To his right stood Eris, one eyebrow raised, while Aurelia shook his shoulders with the force of her laughter.

"Since you never waited for an order, I guess you must know how to defeat this Aron" Eris said, a smirk slowly appearing on his face "And since you must have the knowledge to defeat it, I can assume that this was simply a warm-up for the main event?"

Bolt simply growled at him, too tired to do anything else, and returned to staring with loathing into the opposing Pokémon's eyes.

Eris, though finding the situation amusing, knew that he didn't have time to waste laughing at Bolt's failures.

"Channel the electricity through the holes in its armour."

Bolt glanced at him, receiving a wave of the hand in return, and wearily picked himself up off the floor. He padded over to the Aron, who watched with a hint of curiosity. He placed one paw onto the armour, pressing down hard enough to force some of the fur into contact with the black body hidden underneath.

The effect was near instantaneous, the small Pokémon's leg giving out from the current coursing through its body. Bolt took his paw away and watched as it struggled to get up, before placing his paw against it again. After it had collapsed for a second time, he released the pressure on it. He was about to press down for a third time but a Pokéball interrupted him, removing his target just before he could renew the pain.

The good side to Bolt's torture was that the Aron was incredibly weakened by it, providing no resistance to the ball's capture method. Eris scooped it up, returning Bolt to his own in order to rest. He attached the two Pokéballs to his belt and stroked Aurelia, who had calmed down from her laughing spree. She unfurled herself from around his neck, electing to walk alongside him for the rest of the cave.

This proved to be a good choice, as the room split into two pathways and Eris wouldn't have known which one to choose. Aurelia simply sniffed around and detected another human presence down the left tunnel, prompting her to shoot off. When Eris caught up with her down the labyrinth of tunnels she was sat next to another ladder leading deeper into the earth.

He climbed down and called back up, catching her as she dropped through the narrow opening. The rush of air she generated disturbed the Zubat slumbering on the ceiling, causing them to begin dive-bombing the pair of them. She leapt out of his arms and barrelled towards the ceiling, pushing off of the bats at every opportunity, flailing wildly with her claws at anything nearby.

As Eris watched she began to glow, her form losing height but elongating dramatically, the tufts of fur receding into her body. When the glow faded she whipped around, her extra length knocking the majority of the bats from the air. The rest fled quickly and she landed, curling her body round the look back at Eris. Eris saw she was now about seven feet long from head to tail, which was now comprised of far less fur, but flowed freely. Her legs had grown slightly, but given that her body was slung low to the ground they conferred no height benefit, leaving her to be close to two feet tall.

Her front paws had stretched too, ending in thinner, sharper claws, and the golden fur had become streaks along her body. There were either side of her tail and another two around each of her eyes, extending backwards and covering about a third of her body. Down her back was a final streak, terminating between her eyes with an arrowhead pointing to a flattened nose.

_Linoone- The Rushing Pokémon. Linoone's fur is incredibly fine, allowing it to sit low on the body even when moving at high speeds. Thanks to this property, their extremely streamlined appearance and their powerful legs, Linoone are some of the fastest Pokémon on the planet, if not the fastest on land, reaching speeds upwards of 60 mph. However, due to their tail being comprised entirely of their fur, they are unable to use it to negate torque when turning, meaning that a Linoone can only reach significant speeds on straight pathways. If it tries to turn whilst moving quickly it will most likely fall over, despite the low centre of gravity. Many Linoone have been found to have blunt claws, believed to be caused by using them to avert a crash._

Aurelia spun on the spot, her tail flicking out with every coil, her nose sniffing the air continuously until she stopped, her body pointing dead straight towards the right hand path of another intersection. She took off and Eris heard the rapid clicking of claws for a second, before a horrendous screech erupted from the tunnel. He followed the pathway and saw her stopped in front of a wall, two pairs of thin twin lines laid out behind her.

"Ran too fast didn't you?"

"Yeah. I've got to get used to this new speed" she replied "Take the next two lefts then a right. There'll be a ladder going upwards. From there I'm not sure."

Eris thanked her and returned her to the ball, reattaching it to his belt as he followed her instructions. To the annoyingly small holes he had to push his backpack ahead of him as he climbed to get it through the hole. The ladder was far longer than the other two, and he realised why when he emerged. The ladder came out on the ledge he'd seen when he entered the cavern.

He walked along the ledge, finding an entrance to another small cave slightly further round than the lower section went. He walked through and saw a man standing at the back of the room examining the wall. His hair was a light steel blue, forming an inverted 'Y' atop his head, flaring out at the nape of his neck. He turned around, having heard Eris enter the room, and looked at him, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a glowing red stone.

The man's eyes, the exact same colour as his hair, moved slowly over Eris, analysing him with the same scrutiny you'd expect from observation of a diamond. His suit jacket was coal black, with amethyst zigzag patterns down either side of the chest, and his trouser were charcoal grey. Covering the small 'V' outlined by the jacket's lapels was a ruby cravat. Thin silver rings encircled his index and ring fingers, the one around his ring finger pulsating with a green light as he pressed it to the stone. Similarly coloured bangles were around his upper arms, though these were not lit.

"Fire. Some would say it is the very element of life itself. There was once a group of people who believed that a great being named Prometheus gave human's fire to help them survive. He stole it from the gods and was punished for it. Fire provides the warmth we need to live through the nights and the winters. But fire also destroys. The smallest touch can burn the flesh, killing cells and forcing them to regrow. When it touches wood it will spread. If left alone it will spread and consume everything it can. All that raw energy, that property of life and death, contained within this one crystal. Isn't nature amazing?"

The man pocketed the crystal and clicked his fingers, an Aron running out from behind him.

"Thank you little one. You have earned a reward" he said to it, pulling a small chunk of silvery-grey metal from his other pocket and giving it to the Pokémon, who began eating it with vigour. He then turned back to Eris.

"I'm afraid I don't give out autographs, if that's what you were looking for. I suppose it is fortunate that my business is done here, that way I don't have to ask you to keep this a secret. However, it is polite to ask your name and business before I leave."

"My name is Eris" he replied "Eris Doohan. Originally I was here to defeat Lord Brawly, but Mr. Stone of the Devon Corporation sent me here with a letter for his son. I assume that is you." He produced the letter from an inner pocket, holding it out for the man to see. He took it and viewed the writing on it, before holding out his hand for Eris to shake, which he did.

"Grand Duke Steven Stone, Heir to the Devon Corporation, Champion of the Hoenn Region, Leader of the Security Services for the Hoenn Region as a whole with the capability to induct into and remove from service peoples for the role of Gym Leader, responsible for the co-ordination of a counterattack against any terrorist organisation targeting the Hoenn Region, Third Inducted Member of the Triumvirate for the Protection of the Pokémon World" he took a breath and chuckled "Call me Steven, titles can get annoying."

"It is an honour that you permit me to call you by your first name Lor- Steven" Eris said " Am I correct in assuming that you can determine what minerals an Aron prefers for consumption, and if it isn't too much to ask could you tell me what mine prefers?" he finished, sending out the tiny, pained Pokémon.

Steven bent down, pulling a Potion out from a pocket affixed further down his trouser leg and sprayed it through one of the holes. The effect was noticeable in an instant, as the small Pokémon, who couldn't stand to begin with, raised its head and lifted itself up to its full height. He followed up the application of the medicine by stroking the top of its head with his left head and then placing it on his right arm bangle. The bangle glowed blue for a second and, when it faded, he pinched the top and bottom of it, cracking it in two.

He took it off and viewed the inside of it, searching for a particular item upon it. He raised an eyebrow and reattached the bangle to his bicep.

"From the results here, you've got a tricky customer on your hands. There is a high percentage of iridium, which might suggest that it favours that, but it would appear that it actually favours osmium, having to find osmiridium and iridosmium alloys. Those are very rare alloys to find naturally" Steven told him as he ran his index finger along the edge of the envelope, slitting it open and pulling the letter inside out.

As he read, the smile on his face waned and his forehead furrowed. His eyes hardened and he folded the letter quickly, pocketing it and turning back towards the wall.

"I thank you for delivering this. I need to perform some investigations. This news is disturbing to say the least. If it is right, we shall meet again, though in less favourably circumstances. Before I go, your Aron's name is Arnold. I met him earlier. But now, I must bid you adieu Eris."

Steven pressed down on his left bangle and it cracked open. He pressed a second time on the inside and it folded itself upwards and into a point, hollowed out in the centre. He slipped this drill onto his fist and touched it to the wall, targeting a specific spot in the wall. After a couple of seconds he removed the drill from the wall and collapsed it back down into the bangle, securing it on his arm as he pushed against the wall.

The section he pushed collapsed outwards, allowing evening sunlight to flood the small chamber. He pulled back his right sleeve, revealing a wristband that held six shrunken Pokéballs. Removing one from the band he expanded it and sent out a metallic bird-like Pokémon that towered above Eris, being almost twice his height. It flapped its red wings rapidly, filling the air with the rasping sound of metal being run along metal. Steven hauled himself up onto the back of the creature and took off into the sky, moving at an intense speed towards the north-east. Soon he had vanished into the clouds.

Eris was about to leave by the same hole when he noticed a grey disk sitting on a rock off to the side. He picked it up, recognising it as a TM, and slipped it into his case as he stepped outside, finding himself on a hidden plateau tucked into a cove, the water lapping softly at the base of the rocks. To his right a narrow ridge ran down to the water's edge and then along to the shore, seemingly the only way back for those who couldn't fly. Eris looked westwards, the sun beginning to near the horizon, but there was enough time to reach Slateport before night fell completely. He buttoned up his coat and navigated along the ridge, the rocks slick with water, until he made it back to the beach, making a beeline for the HSC Peeko, Mr. Briney faithfully waiting for his return. As he neared the craft he thought that he really ought to pay the man.

Eris meandered through the eastern side of Slateport, the horns of the ships echoing in his ears, the shouts of the dockers somehow ringing out clearly over the noise. Mr. Briney had been rather stubborn in taking payment for his services, leaving Eris to surreptitiously place five thousand Pokédollars on a shelf and walk out before the old sailor had realised.

As the base of the sun touched the horizon he walked into the public shipyards, where people could observe the development of new maritime projects. Currently the two big ones were the S.S. Tidal and the Submarine Explorer 1. The latter was of particular interest to Eris, given it was being co-developed by Devon.

From the reports he was reading on some small boards next to a couple of models, the submarine would be powered by a miniscule nuclear fission reactor and, if that wasn't enough developmental technology, a water pressurisation system that drew the liquid in the front, used it to cool the reactor and then either stored it for precision turning by ejecting it from the side jets, or expelled directly out the back for high speed travel. It really did seem a marvel of naval engineering.

The S.S. Tidal on the other hand was rather boring in comparison, the Hoenn Region's answer to Johto and Kanto's S.S. Aqua and Anne respectively. Its primary selling point seemed to be a route to an island where high-end battle facilities were currently being constructed, asking for the best trainers to come and test their skills.

As he continued to move through the rooms, mostly devoid of other people thanks to the time, he came across a man poring over blueprints, each one showing different parts of a submarine. Every now and then he'd lean back, tap his pen against his teeth before furiously jotting down notes and calculations around the edge of the blue paper and in a small notebook he had open next to them.

As he viewed the rest of the room he was surprised to see it had one other occupant. Megan was sat on a bench in front of a large rendering of some cargo ship, a mug of some steaming liquid next to her. She picked it up and took a long drink from it, noticing him as she put it down again.

"Well, at least there's one person here who'll actually relieve this boredom" she said, taking another drink.

The man at the table sighed, shook his head and noted some more numbers down.

"I told you" he replied slightly irate "Only Captain Stern can verify those parts, and he's busy with the opening of the Oceanic Museum. It's a very important time in this city's history, and he can't return here to simply check some parts."

Eris spoke up "Then why don't the parts go to him? Surely the other people at the opening would understand if some work on the most important projects of this day and age needed his assistance. It might even assure them that he is the right man for the job."

The engineer didn't even glance towards Eris, too absorbed in his work.

"I guess you're the PR guy are you? Take the damn parts if you want, but it'll be your head that rolls when Stern gets pissed."

Eris nodded to Megan, who stood with relief at being released from the premises. As she walked behind the engineer she flipped him off, lowering her hand as she returned to his peripheral vision. Once the pair was outside she spoke.

"I've wanted to do that for the past hour."

"You could have done it for the entire hour. That guy was so engrossed a global war could have started around him and he wouldn't have noticed. Where are we headed?"

"Like Dock said, Oceanic Museum. It's supposed to be a place for people to learn all about the sea, how tides work, marine biology and whatnot. I think the opening is happening after a ball that's taking place there. Captain Stern has to open it since he's the foremost authority on the ocean. Even Admiral Archie defers to him when needed. When the leader of the naval asks you for advice you know you're valuable."

"So he's a big name?"

"Yeah."

"That means he's a big target." The Museum was starting to come into view now "Which explains the two thugs posted outside the door" Eris growled, beginning to slowly speed up, and flicking a Pokéball off of his belt. He pressed the button on the front and hurled it ahead of him, allowing Alex to shoot out and into the water.

The thugs, stunned by the bright flash of light and the subsequent splash, turned towards the water and were greeted by two powerful jets in quick succession, the salt blinding them. Thanks to this Eris' approach was unnoticed, and the only inclination that they had to his presence was after one of them had rubbed his eyes enough to see again, only to notice the snarl plastered across the boy's face and the hand rushing towards his neck.

His companion's only warning was the soft sound of a windpipe collapsing and the strangled breath that followed it. As a black trainer whipped through the air he turned sharply around, his body stopping, his head continuing to move around after the foot connected.

Megan arrived just as Eris was kneeling at the water's edge, giving further instructions to Alex, and was stunned by the nonchalant way he acted around the death he had just caused. She had to force herself to not look at the man lying on the ground, still desperately trying to draw air through his shattered trachea. Amazingly she found it easier to focus on the man whose head was facing the wrong way, disturbing as it was.

She looked at the teenager who was just beginning to stand up again, amazed that he turned from a seemingly carefree, smart talking boy into a maelstrom of death in just a few seconds.

"Wasn't that a bit excessive?" she asked, rather shakily.

His face was deadpan as he looked at her "Nothing is excessive if it achieves the required goal. They won't interfere in anything again." His eyes (she noticed they had changed from a light blue to a steely grey) showed utter conviction, pure belief in those words. They seemed to bore into her, daring her to question him, and she shivered. He broke the gaze and walked into the Museum.

Eris was surprised by the lack of resistance on the ground floor, expecting there to be at least a couple of guards. At least it made his job easier. He slipped up the stairs and melted into the crowd, who were unnaturally still. As Eris looked around it didn't take long to work out why. More of the thugs were arrayed around the edge of the room, each holding an automatic rifle that was pointed at the partygoers.

Now he had to be stealthy about his approach, he got a better look at the attackers. Both the males and females were dressed in hooded red crop-tops, a grey shirt covering the abdomen. The hoods had a black oval in the centre of them, and two black horns on either side. Above the sternum was a symbol that somewhat resembled an 'M', created out of a mountain range with an oval cut out at the base.

Their hands were gloved and they had two red armbands covering the lower half of their forearms. Both wore red belts with silver buckles and the same red bands on their legs, from their knees down. The females wore exceptionally short skirts, while the males wore three quarter trousers- once again in grey- that just covered the first of the three leg bands.

As Eris looked closer he realised that this group was very big on uniformity, as every single woman there had the exact same hairstyle; shoulder length, dark blue, parted either side of the head and emerging from the hood.

He started to formulate a plan to clear them out when another member approached the podium, his attire instantly marking him out as above the others. He wore a floor length deep red cloak with a large circular hood that obscured his face for the most part, the mountainous M embroidered on the left breast. When he stood fully in front of the podium he drew the hood back, revealing a long, thin face framed by raven black hair that seemed to sag down either side until it reached his cheekbones. Across one temple was a hideous burn scar that he made no move to hide.

He unclasped the cloak and handed it to one of the peon's standing by, showing the rest of his wear for the evening: an immaculate earth brown shirt and a tie the same colour as the cloak atop beige trousers. He tapped the microphone affixed to the podium, signalled to a few reporters to start filming, and began to speak.

"People of the Hoenn Region, I address you from the grand opening of the Oceanic Museum in Slateport City. Before I begin fully I must warn any police or other security forces that if any of you attempt to stop us tonight I will not hesitate to execute everyone standing in this room. Given that includes the famed Captain Stern, Admiral Archie of the Hoenn Navy alongside some of his lesser officers and dignitaries from the Kanto and Johto Regions, it would be for the best that you simply listened this night."

"My name is Igneous, and I come here today with a message. The people in this room believe that we should protect the ocean. The people in this room are fools. They believe that we can survive on the little land we have currently. I disagree. We cannot continue to live as we are. Soon overpopulation will begin to take hold, forcing us to live in cramped conditions."

"This is something that we must avoid at all costs. If we were to live on every square inch of land then we would have nowhere to grow crops, to graze Pokémon for the slaughter. Barring genocide, there is only one solution. We must create more land, and the only way to do that is to remove the sea! That is the goal of my people, and any who believe it is wrong are too naive to see forwards, to see what is going to happen."

"And so, I came here tonight, to spread this message to you, the common working man. If you believe in our goal then express your opinion. Stand up to the oceanic supremacists. You know that we cannot end up living on tiny scraps of land. We will find you and you can help us, help the world. Join Team Magma!"

"I also acknowledge that many of you might not believe me as I stand here. This is why I have elected to make a show of this evening" he nodded towards a peon further back "Being brought before us now is Rear Admiral Shelly of the Hoenn Navy, who is also head of Team Aqua, an ecological organisation that seeks to preserve the ocean in every way possible."

"You bastard! If you harm her in the slightest I will tear you limb from limb!"

Eris looked forwards to see where the commotion was coming from. A heavily thickset man in his mid-fifties with deeply tanned skin was tensed at the front of the group, ready to throw himself at Igneous if not for the six firearms pointed at him. He wore a naval officer's uniform, the rank insignia on his shoulders marking him out as an admiral.

Igneous began to talk again, but Eris blocked him out, using the distraction to enact his plan. He released Arnold and directed the Pokémon to ready itself so it had a line of the grunts in its sight. He instructed it to charge on his mark and moved the opposite way, lining up the three grunts on his side. At the front he saw a woman of about forty with large curls of ginger hair cascading off of her head. Her hands and ankles were bound together, her officer's uniform ruffled, the cap slightly dented.

Eris snuck behind the first of the grunts and grabbed him, one hand other his mouth with the other clasping his crop-top. He pulled the man, barely out of his teens it seemed, backwards, offsetting his arm and causing his finger to tighten involuntary on the trigger, spraying bullets at the ceiling and knocking him backwards slightly with the recoil. Before he could do any more damage Eris hurled him bodily through the floor length window he was stood in front of.

The shattering of glass triggered several things at once. On the other side of the room Arnold charged forwards, breaking the ankles of the three people on that side and rendering them useless. The shock of being attacked stopped the other two weapon bearing grunts from acting, allowing Eris to throw a second one out of the window. The third one managed to shake off the surprise and brought his gun round. He was about to fire when Alex shot through the second window and bowled him over.

Two of the grunts in the back threw Pokéballs at Arnold, one releasing a Zubat, the other a yellow Pokémon with a green topped hump and sleepy eyes. Its head hung quite low, but with the hump it reached six feet. The heat radiating off of it was intense and caused everyone in the room to back away. While this was occurring Eris was racing round to behind the podium, to the side of which a Magma Grunt was holding a stiletto knife to Shelly's throat.

As the sleepy camel like Pokémon advanced on Arnold, Alex blasted water towards it, soaking it thoroughly. Despite the heat evaporating the water instantly the now humid air surrounding the Pokémon made it even sleepier, falling to the floor to take a rest. Alex shot a second blast towards it, targeting the small hole atop the hump and filling it with water, causing the Pokémon to become near catatonic and the heat around it to diminish dramatically.

Now that the heat was gone Arnold charged towards the Zubat, who dived down in retaliation. Arnold lifted on of his stubby front legs, glowing slightly and sharpening into a point, and swiped at the bat knocking it down to the floor. The Grunts returned their Pokémon, though one of them sent out a second camel like creature. The humidity surrounding the area stopped a small portion of the heat from reaching the Steel type, who dug his foreleg into the floor and threw small chips of the ceramic tiling into the eyes of the opposing Pokémon.

It blindly attempted to tackle Arnold, who simply stepped out of its way and raked its sharpened foreleg against the side of the creature. A thin line of blood emerged from the side, followed by tiny bubbles of lava from inside of it. Alex noticed this and quickly subdued the Pokémon with the last of his water reserves, barely managing to shut the heat off.

Meanwhile Eris had managed to get behind the Grunt holding Shelly and when he saw the second camel fall he pounced. Reaching around with his left hand he forced the knife away from the naval officer's throat while he held the Grunt's own throat with his arm. He twisted the wrist almost to breaking point, causing the Grunt to drop the knife in pain. As it fell Eris caught it by the blade and flipped it around, swapping the arm he had around the neck for the knife, which he quickly drew along the jugular, leaving the Grunt to spray blood across the room.

While all this chaos was happening Igneous was rapidly wondering how it could have gone so wrong. Without warning the entirety of his defensive ranks fell, wiped out by organised tactics he only thought the military was capable of. And then Archie had attacked, driving him backwards with targeted blows that carried years of experience. The matters only worsened when he saw his executer fall to his knees, throat slit open by a child.

"NO!" he screamed, drawing a pistol from the waistband of his trousers and levelling it at the rear admiral's head, pulling the trigger before anyone realised what was going on. The bullet drilled through her skull, disgorging blood and brain matter as it exited. She slumped to the floor as he released his own camel, which quickly filled the room with smoke.

Those members of Team Magma still alive in the room took the opportunity to flee, Igneous in particular taking flight by holding onto the lower torso of a four foot bat. Everyone else in the room threw themselves to the floor, if they weren't there already, to avoid the toxic fumes.

XXXXXX

Igneous stepped into the shadowy boardroom, sweat beginning to peak under his collar for the first time in many years.

"That was a rather impressive show Igneous."

The man blanched at the words, fearing the worst was yet to come. He bowed his head, feeling like he was unworthy to speak after the disappointment he had just become, but speak he must.

"I am sorry Sir. Everything was going as planned until we were attacked. I receive my punishment gladly."

"I am not going to punish you Igneous. You managed to spread the message, sow the seeds of doubt in the minds of the people. You were even able to remove a key member of the military. As you said, everything was going as planned until you were attacked. Normally I would blame the lack of guard forces you set up, or perhaps the lack of a threat, but you executed those two objectives well enough. Indeed, everything was perfect until one variable entered the system. A bug. A virus. A slayer."

"It was him? He was there?" Igneous asked incredulously.

"Indeed he was. We knew him to be efficient and ruthless, the two dead grunts you stationed outside being proof enough of those facts. What we did not know was how far he was willing to go. It seems that we now have a measure of this. Please know that I do not view this as a failure, since the primary objectives of the mission were achieved. However, it does give us a baseline for any future engagements with him. The video of this altercation shall be used to train the new recruits. They will know what to fear and what to avoid."

Igneous, spurred on by these words, worked up the courage to ask some further questions.

"How is your secondary project progressing Sir?"

"Rather well I would say. There are a few minor hitches regarding the implementation of a couple of secondary ingredients, but overall no one outside of the lab suspects a thing. I'll have to wait for the results of the trials to pinpoint areas of improvement, but given the nature of the formula that could take a few months at best."

"And what of Tabitha's project?"

"More information is required before we can mobilise fully. From recent reports it seems that the team hopes to locate one of the Kings soon. Of course, they'll need to wait for their field agent before they can pinpoint a location fully. Something was transferred into his PokéNav before Tabitha could intercept it. She doesn't know what it is, but apparently it resonates when nearing a King."

"What locations do we have suspected currently?"

"They believe that the King of Rock has taken up residence within the desert. There are reports of people entering various ruins and not emerging. This seems to match with the scrolls we have regarding it. It is fortunate that those who lived near it made such detailed notes on the subject, far more fortunate than the other two Kings. Currently we have nothing about them. Tabitha is very irate."

"I can associate with that feeling Sir."

"I'm sure you can Igneous. Oh, you must also remind me to contact Courtney. I feel we must deploy the King and Queen once more, and for some reason they look up to her like a mother. On that note, I must leave you. Business calls. However, I have left a recording for your viewing pleasure. I found it enlightening and rather amusing. I feel that you will share these feelings. For the land!"

The chair he was sat in creaked as he rose, taking his leave through a door in the back.

"For the land" Igneous replied weakly. Despite the Master's assurances he still felt unworthy to speak their motto. He couldn't let the Master notice this though. It would only shame him more. He walked forwards to the desk, picking up the remote that had been left there. He turned the large TV attached to the wall on, its harsh electronic light burning his retina's slightly, and hit play.

XXXXXX

When the fumes had cleared Eris saw Archie kneeling next to Shelly's body, tears threatening to break through his years of military experience in remaining stoic. After a moment he composed himself and looked out the shattered window, as though his gaze could bring Igneous back to him.

Archie picked himself up off the floor, smoothed his jacket and walked to the podium, drawing all eyes in the room towards him. He procured a phone from a pocket and tapped it once, holding it to his ear, quietly and rapidly speaking into it, his breath hitching slightly. Within a moment he nodded and put the phone away. Shakily, he began to address the room.

"People of the Hoenn Region, my name is Archie Octavius Cygnet, Admiral of the Hoenn Naval Forces. Tonight you have witnessed a madman try to trick you into believing his theories, theories that have no credence. In an attempt to lend credence to these theories he attacked Rear Admiral Shelly Leone Cygnet, my younger sister, head of an ecological protective front, believing that removing her from this world would help him advance his goals."

It was at this point that Eris began to return his Pokémon and retreated to the shadows, sidling along the wall until he had reached the door.

"Normally I would not condone the actions of a vigilante, but I am partially grateful that one was in the building tonight. Their systematic attack rendered the enemy presence here at the Museum null, forcing their leader into retreat as well as saving my sister. Unfortunately, this madman had a contingency plan, and was able to shoot her before he fled. My sister was an honourable woman, a valued strategist and the greatest sibling one could ask for. She will be sorely missed by this region."

He drew a deep breath, composing himself once more.

"Because this madman attacked an officer in our Navy, he has essentially attacked our entire region. He made the promise that he would achieve his goals, leading us to believe that he will return. This leaves only one course of action."

He looked straight into the cameras.

"People of the Hoenn Region, we are now at war."


	18. Chapter 3: Part 2- Never Run Away

_Disclaimer- I do not own Pokémon in any way. That right belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak. I do however own Eris and anyone else who does not appear in the games. _

* * *

Eris walked along on Route 110, cooling down and breathing heavily from the long run out there. The clouds in the sky shifted slightly, and the waning moon shone down, glinting off the stiletto knife he was deftly weaving between his fingers. The blade was still darkened from the spurt of blood that had caught it, but it had begun to dry. He stopped the motions, the blade now resting across his index and ring fingers, the middle sitting atop it, and chipped some of the blood of.

In a strange way, it felt cathartic. But also wrong. A blade shouldn't reach that state. It hadn't been too long since he'd stopped using edged weaponry had it? Thinking back, he had had to apply quite a bit of pressure before the knife had cut. He'd need to buy a whetstone. Blade maintenance was important after all.

He suddenly stopped. What was he thinking? He'd banished weaponry when he left home. He swore he wouldn't use it again. But… it had felt so _right_. So _natural_. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to keep the blade around a little longer. After all, it wasn't wrong to crave that slight feeling of resistance before the metal sunk into the skin, was it? No, of course it wasn't. Everyone felt that like sometimes didn't they?

Yes, he thought. Yes, people just go a little crazy from time to time and want to stab that one person they hate with a passion. And then they want to stab all the people they hate. They just want to stab and stab and stab until all the blood has left the body and they're standing triumphant and soaked in the life-force of their foe. It was a perfectly natural feeling.

He shook his head, flip-flopping between old and new philosophies. He subconsciously slipped the blade with practised ease into a sheath on the inside of his coat and continued to walk; focusing on the aftermath of the Oceanic Museum attack in the hopes it would clear his mind.

XXXXXX

"People of the Hoenn Region, we are now at war."

The room let out a collective gasp following the statement, journalists hastily scribbling notes down. It was evident from the buzz around them that only one story would be in the morning paper. The rest of the room, high-profile businessmen and women, politicians, though shocked, were all rapidly thinking the same thing. What effect would this have on them? For some it would provide lucrative business opportunities. For others it could spell the end of their time in office.

For Eris, stood hidden in the shadows, it meant that movement was going to be a lot harder. A declaration of war, essentially civil war, meant that checkpoints were going to start being erected, curfews enacted, martial law declared if it became necessary. Hopefully Magma wouldn't strike again so blatantly soon, otherwise the public might panic.

The other thing it meant was that now he had a third job to do. Igneous was serious, that much was clear. Eris was going to be very busy between completing the Pokémon League, finishing Project Royal and stopping Team Magma. For now it would be best to lay low and continue beating the Gyms, not actively hunting down Magma Grunts.

He slipped down the stairs as the press began to ask Admiral Archie further questions regarding what this declaration would mean for the region. Now that the adrenaline was beginning to leave his system he noticed how quiet the surrounding area was. Even the noise from the docks had ceased. It would seem that all work had stopped while Igneous' broadcast was aired.

He walked outside, seeing Megan still stood where she had been when he entered the Musuem. Her face had paled, and she was constantly looking back and forth between the two bodies on the ground. She was slowly talking into her PokéNav She looked up briefly and saw him walking towards her. He raised a hand in greeting and she started to back up, shaking her head.

"You're a monster" she whispered "You're a monster" she repeated, far louder this time.

Eris stopped, the knife he'd used not ten minutes earlier held loosely in by his side.

"I've been called worse" he said, shrugging the allegation off "Captain Stern should be coming out soon of you want to give him those parts."

Megan made no show of having heard him, still caught in the disbelief of what he could do. What he had done.

"I called the police" she said, before flinching away from him "Please don't kill me."

"I'm not going to kill you" he said as he began to walk away. Through the silence his ears detected the steadily growing whine of sirens.

"I'm going to run."

He took off as the blue lights started to peak around the corner behind him. Before he turned down a different street he looked back to see Megan kneeling on the ground, crying as the trauma started to catch up with her, a police officer stood consoling her and getting a statement while another relayed it to their superiors.

XXXXXX

He quickly ended that train of thought before it took him further back. He didn't need thoughts of the past to start catching up with him now.

"Fuck." Just thinking about not thinking about the past was causing him to start thinking about the past. He rubbed his temples, managing to stave off the thoughts for a short time, at least until he found somewhere to sleep.

Up ahead he could dimly see a large silhouette. It was probably a rest house, or maybe a fishing lodge for the nearby river. Either way he should be able to seek respite there for the night.

Eris knocked on the slats of the front door, the force of them pushing it open slightly. Now cautious, he slowly pushed it open further and stepped into a large room that seemed to cover the entirety of the structure. He searched the wall next to the door for a switch, but finding nothing he resigned himself to navigating in the dark. From what he could see there was no way out of the room other than the door he was at.

Reasoning that, as no one would leave their door open and there was nowhere for someone to hide, the house was abandoned, meaning that so long as no one found him there, which was likely, he'd be fine.

He slipped his bag off and lay down, being surprised by the composition of the floor. Tatami flooring was highly uncommon outside of the Johto Region. Still, there was no one around to offend or worry about a damaged floor so he didn't think much of it as he drifted off to sleep, the thoughts of the past catching up to him once more.

XXXXXX

The luminous green display next to him flicked over to display four zeroes, and his eyes shot open. They were far younger, no fear, worry or pain showing in them. Instead they were filled with youthful innocence, wonderment, and most of all determination. He had not yet been broken down and built back up in the image they wanted.

He threw the covers off, and climbed out of the bed, still fully dressed from earlier. The date was May 3rd. They'd told him it was his birthday. Today he turned six years old. Today his proper training began. That's what they all told him.

Except one. Nancy Druket. Otherwise known as Nanny. Contrary to the rest of the base that he was trapped in, she was a kind hearted woman, eyes filled with happiness whenever she saw him. Everyone else either simply ignored him, or quietly observed during his training. Despite the happiness she conveyed there was always sadness that he saw briefly every time she looked at him, though whenever she saw him notice it was quickly replaced by a smile and a twinkle.

He hadn't understood it until earlier today. She'd seemed distraught, terrified and jittery. She jumped at the smallest noise and spent more time watching the doors than she did watching him. When one of his trainers came to collect him her report was filled with stutters and fillers, causing Shadow to question whether she was alright.

Eris liked Shadow. By virtue of his past profession he was patient and understanding. He had to be. The skill he was teaching required it. His real name was Goatsemodime Maceachthighearna, but the rest of the people in the base couldn't be bothered to learn how to pronounce it correctly, so they just called him Shadow, because he was black they said. Eris didn't understand that either. His skin was a deep brown, not black. Sometimes they called him Horse Boy, which Eris didn't get either.

Fortunately, Goatsemodime encouraged questions, and told him that his name meant 'God knows son of the horse lord'. Eris didn't know which god, there were lots of them. He studied some of them with Mrs. Rivers, which his English teacher, Mr. Lex, told him wasn't her real name, but a pseudonym, or false name. Mr. Lex was a pseudonym as well. One day he asked why Mrs. Rivers and Mr. Lex used pseudonyms and how they chose them.

Mr. Lex had told him it was to hide their identities if case someone infiltrated the base. As to why they chose those specific names, Mr. Lex said his was based off of lexis, the total bank of words and phrases in a language. Mrs. Rivers' was harder to discern until he spoke with her about. It was meant to be ironic she said. Her name reflected that time was a river that only flows one way, but she teaches history, which required going against the flow in a manner of speaking.

Mrs. Rivers was kind of mean, he had mused during the stealth lesson. She was a young woman, and he thought they were supposed to be nice. Everything about her seemed mean. Maybe it was because she looked so bad. She was so thin and pinched. All her facial features were sharp and looked like they had been pulled to a point. Her mouth just seemed to be a line, her nose looked like it could pop balloons and Eris wondered if she could see as well as him, since her eyes looked thinner. She had snapped at him one day for not knowing why before she explained it so he wouldn't make the mistake of saying she had slanted eyes again.

He also mused on why he was doing desert stealth exercises and not urban stealth exercises like he had been doing for the past few months. Yes he lived in a desert, but they said that most of the work he'd be doing would be in cities. He didn't know what the work was going to be yet, but he knew that he was good at being sneaky currently. If work meant being sneaky then he was sure he was going to be good at it. Maybe they were doing desert stealth in preparation for a surprise test. But if they were, and he had thought long and hard about this, surely it wouldn't be a surprise because he was expecting it. Which would mean it wasn't a surprise test, which it had to be in order to test him. And since those two things were opposite surely they couldn't test him. He felt very smug for having beaten them.

When he returned from his lesson Nancy had pressed something into his hand. A piece of paper. He wanted to read it right there but she told him to wait until later that night. She seemed more composed, but still anxious and on edge. When he was picked up at five to be escorted back to his room she had seemed really sad. Almost as though she wouldn't see him again. Only when he got back to his room and he was sure no one would interrupt him did he read the letter and realise why.

_Eris_

_Tomorrow you turn six. Tomorrow they will begin a horrific process. They will turn you into a monster. They want to use you as a weapon. Nobody expects a child to be capable of what they want you to do. Because of this you are their perfect weapon. I do not want this to happen to you. You have not had a normal childhood so far, and I don't want it to be destroyed anymore. Ready a bag with the most important things to you and some vital survival equipment. Tonight at midnight I will distract the guard who is supposed to be at your door. Use the time to run away, using your skills to escape. Try to reach Phenac City as soon as possible. Please Eris, tonight run away from this life before it is too late._

_Nancy_

And now it was time. He had a small backpack on with food and water in it. His clothing was thick enough to protect him from the nightly chill and he could modify it for when the sun rose. He grabbed the Pokéballs of his two Eevee, not yet named, off of his bedside table and crept to the door. Trusting Nancy he pressed the button beside it and it slid upwards into the ceiling. Normally the guard would seal the inside button's mechanism so he couldn't leave. Evidently they didn't tonight.

He snuck out into the corridor and turned left before a voice froze him in his tracks.

"It won't work you know."

He turned around and looked at the man who had spoken. It was Sentinel, the security chief for the base. He was casually leaning against one of the walls, arms folded, legs crossed at the ankle. His hands, as always, were gloved and his right hand he clutched his ever present cigarette. Eris didn't think he'd seen Sentinel without one of them clenched between his teeth or fingers. His deep brown eyes were constantly moving, roving around the corridor, focusing on seemingly random objects for fractions of a second. Never once did he actually look at Eris from behind his wire frame glasses. He raised the cigarette to his lips, barely visible behind the thick grey beard, and took a long drag on it. In sharp contrast to his beard the grey hair on top of his head was shorn short.

"You don't know that" Eris snapped at him, before he realised what was happening "You're not going to report me are you?"

"How can I report you?" Sentinel asked "I'm in my office filing security reports and reviewing applications for some new guards. Some of the current ones aren't up to standards I'm afraid."

"So you're just going to let me go?" Eris said quizzically, confused as to why Sentinel wasn't stopping him.

"I don't see why not, since your plan is going to fail anyway. And before you say anything-" Sentinel said, just as Eris was opening his mouth "- I know a lot more than you'd think. Now, if I were you I'd get going soon. Will finishes quite quickly, and I'm not sure Nancy can keep him there too long. I'll see you in a few hours."

With that he dropped the cigarette on the floor, ground it out with his boot and walked off back to his office, leaving Eris standing alone in the corridor. As the footsteps faded away Eris turned to face the other end of the corridor, quickly breaking into a run to be out of the base as fast as possible.

Thanks to his many lessons with Goatsemodime on navigating and hiding in large interiors he knew the layout of the base better than he knew his own hand. He'd heard Mr. Lex had used that expression once. He didn't understand it. Who memorises what the back of their hand looks like? He was about to turn another corner when a door slid open, one of the scientists stepping out. They stopped for a few moments as he tried to keep his breathing as quiet as possible. As he watched the woman shook her head, rubbed her eyes and walked off towards her quarters.

The most difficult part about getting out was some of the security doors. He had to wait for one of the patrolling guards to open it before he could get through. Fortunately they were quite lax and didn't report every little noise they heard, though they were kind enough to leave their key cards in the reader while they investigated them. Soon he was in the main hall, wondering how he could get through the main doors when he heard some chatter coming through the speaker.

He couldn't quite make it out, but clearly the guys down in the booth thought it was acceptable, as the doors began to crawl open, letting in the freezing desert night. As Eris watched half a dozen jeeps drove in through the entrance as soon as it was opened enough, followed by a large eighteen wheeler when the doors were fully open. A load of surly looking men climbed out of the jeeps and the cab of the lorry, walking over to the side of the hall to discuss business.

With everyone distracted Eris saw his chance, rushing forwards as fast as could whilst being silent and pressed himself up against the door of the nearest jeep before creeping along the line towards the vehicle at the end of the line. There was quite a large gap between the last jeep and the lorry. He didn't think he could make it without being seen.

He contemplated climbing into one of the jeeps and hiding until it stopped again, but it might take him somewhere he would not want to be. Not to mention the chance of being found before he got anywhere. He was just steeling himself to make the run when a large gust of wind threw up sand, swirling it around the interior and reducing the visibility near the vehicles to almost nothing. Eris, blinded by the unexpected sand, charged forwards, hoping he was running in the right direction. He knew he was successful when he felt the material beneath his feet start to slide and he began to lose traction.

He had done it. He was outside the base, on the desert floor and free. He kept running as much as he could to increase the distance between him and the base, but he was still partially blinded and tumbled down one of the dunes. He lay at the bottom, breathing heavily, and gazed up at the stars. His teachers hadn't put much stock in astrology, and the library he was given access to didn't have any books on that or astronomy, so he was only able to name one. Polaris, the North Star. The most important star for any traveller in the wilderness.

Phenac City was far to the south-west, so he oriented towards Polaris before turning 135 degrees counter clockwise. That should be enough for the moment. He could adjust every hour or so. He stood and dusted off the sand, starting to walk to the top of the next dune. He had only just crested it when a blinding white light pinned him in place, a truck silently gliding up alongside him.

An absolutely massive man climbed out of the cab of the truck. Eris had never seen him before but he'd heard the stories from his trainers and the guards. This was their leader, the Metal Man some called him. They said his tendons were like steel cables, his muscles like titanium. They said he'd been mocked in a pub once for his tiny legs. The man who mocked him had soon found half of the bar on his head.

The prison he was placed in after the incident had been found without any inmates, scores of dead guards and giant holes in the walls. Suffice to say, no one had found him since the escape, or if they had they didn't want to talk about it. And now he was stood here, in front of Eris, his eyebrows making him look like that Devil character people used to fear.

"Hello Eris" he said, his voice gruff and unwelcoming "You passed your final test."

"No, this can't be a test. I worked it out. There can't be a surprise test because I expected one , meaning it wouldn't be a surprise."

"Did you expect this?" the man asked.

Eris hesitated before meekly answering.

"No."

"Thus it was a surprise!" he boomed "Now, you will return to the base so we can begin your proper training."

"No" Eris said "Nancy told me what you would do to me."

"Nancy Druket is a liar and a whore! She is a manipulative bitch who wishes to stop us from achieving great things, stop you from achieving great things and she will do whatever it takes!" he quietened "And most of all, she wants to take you away from me. Now, we are returning to the base."

"Why?" Eris asked, ever curious in spite of fear.

"Because I am your father and you will do as I say!" his shout dissipated quickly in the vastness of the desert, but the weight it carried lingered long after. Eris was stunned by the revelation, so stunned that he did not detect the man moving up behind him.

His next memory was waking in a new room, a small bowl of cereal on a table next to the bed. He sat up quickly and reached for it, but nausea and light-headedness overtook him and he was forced to turn away, throwing up onto the floor. Once he had finished he slowly started to eat, stopping to take deep breaths whenever the nausea returned.

The moment he had finished the food and placed the bowl back onto the table the door slid open, a guard gesturing for him to follow. The journey took a few minutes, through a bizarre set of corridors, spiralling down into the bowels of the base. A final door slid open and the guard left, leaving Eris to enter alone.

In the centre of the room lay Nancy. Sentinel and the boss were stood behind her. Nancy lifted her head and Eris saw that her hands were chained to an iron ring in the floor.

"Welcome Eris, to the beginning" the boss said, stepping forwards slightly "I must admit, earlier I lied slightly. It was not a test for you. It was a test for us. You simply ran away from us. Which you must never do again. Of course, I don't expect you to listen to those words, so I'm going to teach you a lesson."

He quickly stepped forwards, lifting his left hand and bringing it crashing down across Eris' cheek. He cried out in pain as he felt the bone snap and he was thrown to the ground. He heard Nancy cry out as the boss stepped over to him and delivered a kick to his ribs, the force not seeming possible from the tiny leg.

Eris curled his body up, trying to breathe through the pain and avoid as much as he could. A hand reached down and forced his head up, the other one delivering a punishing blow to his face, breaking his nose, splitting his lips and aggravating the already fractured bones. A second punch cracked his jaw open.

"Enough."

The man stopped at Sentinel's word. Sentinel then brought his hand up to his ear, pressing a button on the small device attached to it. A few seconds later seven men strode into the chamber

"So, we here to get a nice fucking from a pretty lady?" one of them asked as he leered at Nancy.

"Quite the opposite actually" Sentinel replied calmly, raising a revolver and shooting the man in the face.

"What the fuck!?" another of them screamed, being rewarded with a bullet for his troubles. The other five men figured that it would be best to not speak.

"You have been called here because you have all failed. You were hired to be guards, and you made drastic mistakes. Four of you, along with one of the men now on the ground, left doors open while you investigated noises. This is unacceptable. For this transgression both I and the head of this group felt that you need to die. The same applies for the hangar control team, who allowed the incoming vehicles to be parked in such a way that it was easy for someone to leave the base using them as cover."

Shock and fear covered the faces of the five remaining men before they started incoherently babble in a vain attempt to save themselves. Sentinel looked at each of them with contempt as he moved the revolver along the line, executing four more of them. When he reached the fifth person the hammer clicked down on an empty chamber. The man breathed a sigh of relief, until he noticed his boss walking towards him and he screamed, the sound being cut short as he was pinned to the wall by his neck. It wasn't asphyxiation that killed him though. Instead it was a fist that swung through the air with more power than he thought possible from a human.

The man's body slumped to the floor, a ragged hole in the middle of his face, blood and brain matter covering the wall behind him and his boss' hand. The boss shook off most of the gory substances as he walked back to the centre of the room.

He knelt next to the crying, traumatised woman, making sure that Eris was watching.

"You were highly insubordinate" he growled at her "There's only one reward for insubordination."

He reached out and grasped her face, brushing away the tears with one of his giant thumbs before he placed both of his thumbs on top of her windpipe, slowly pressing down. She started to gasp for air as he crushed her trachea. Soon after the light in her eyes slowly died as her vital organs shut down one by one and she collapsed to the floor.

The boss knelt down next to Eris.

"Never run away and never fail me."

Sentinel put his hand to his ear again.

"Doctor Crawford, you have Level 1 Clearance. Report with two of your men to the Sanctum for a medical extraction. And prep a Med Bay."

A few minutes later a bald man with wrinkles starting to appear on his face walked in through the door, two other men –blond and brown haired- followed him with a stretcher. They pulled out a needle and injected him with the liquid inside, quickly knocking him unconscious, before carrying him out without a word.

XXXXXX

Eris woke in a cold sweat, phantom pains shooting through his body. It was very early morning; the sunlight that peaked through a high up window was weak and the first choruses of birdsong were only just starting to appear. His breathing was shallow and rapid as he slowly sat up.

He sniffed the air, scenting noodles, rice and seafood, along with a heady tea. That had been… Japanese? Yes, it was Japanese culture that survived in Johto.

"Come child. Sit and eat your fill. I always find that food and drink can help clear the mind."

Eris stiffened, turning to look at the man who had spoken. He was rather portly, his red waistcoat having to be held closed by golden wire affixed to twin clasps either side of his abdomen. His white trousers seemed to extend all the way up to his neck, functioning as both leg and torso wear. On top of that was a ridiculously oversized yellow bowtie.

This eccentric getup wasn't helped by his face, two razor thin hairs protruding from underneath his nose seeming to qualify as a moustache. His eyebrows were the complete opposite, being full of hair, much like his head, which was covered by a purple unkempt nest, one group curling up in the centre of his forehead.

He was sat crossed legged on top of a cushion in front of a low table in the centre of the room, patiently waiting for Eris to be seated. Eris removed his shoes before standing and walking over to the table, sitting across from the man.

"_Itadakimasu" _he said, remembering the proper etiquette and continuing "The food looks exquisite. Your knowledge and living style promises that it shall taste as good as it has been presented."

"I appreciate one who knows of the finer things in life. Now, eat up. We can discuss after the meal."

The meal passed in relative silence, the only noises being those of approval at the taste of various pieces of the food. When they had both finished Eris spoke again.

"_gochisōsama-deshita" _he said, before asking a question that had been troubling him since he started eating "Who are you?"

"They call me the Trick Master. I am renowned for bringing puzzles, riddles and challenges from all over the world to people, giving them the joys of trying to solve them. Tell me, what walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs in the evening?"

"Man" Eris replied "If you like riddles so much, how about answering this one?" he took a deep breath before reciting.

"As I was going to St Ives  
I met a man with sevenwives  
Each wife had seven sacks  
Each sack had seven cats  
Each cat had seven kits  
Kits, cats, sacks, wives  
How many were there going to St Ives?"

The Trick Master smiled, wiping his hands on his _oshibori _that was sat on the table.

"That depends on what you wish to truly know. Your answer can be as few as zero, or as many as 2802. The most commonly accepted answer is one, so that is my answer for you."

Now it was Eris' turn to smile, having found a man who appreciated one of the more intellectual pursuits.

"I would ask you to try out one of my most recent courses now that you have proven you are knowledgeable in some of the older arts, but I wish to ask one question first. From your dress you seem like a person who would be suspicious. Why were you not suspicious of the food I gave you?"

Eris smiled again "There was no need to be. I carry antidotes to every common poison and you had plenty of time to kill me while I slept. By not doing so you either wanted information from me, or are not the sort of man who would kill another."

The Trick Master stood and walked over to a long scroll attached to the wall, twiddling the rollers to bring the scroll up and exposing a hole behind it.

"I really should be going. I thank you for the food, but I need to be leaving."

"Please, stay a short while longer. Try this challenge. I always enjoy seeing different ways of solving my puzzles. It will be well worth your time I assure you" he said, gesturing through the hole.

Eris was loathe to admit, but he was intrigued by what could lie beyond the gap, despite the time constrictions he had to operate under. Perhaps it a bad decision, but only time would tell. He stepped through the gap and the Trick Master let the scroll drop back down, plunging him into darkness.

He walked forwards blindly, feeling his along a shallow descent. When the lights reappeared he looked up and saw that he was below the forest canopy. It must have been a façade to cover the elaborate maze the Trick Master had created. Currently he was stood on a balcony that overlooked the entire construct, allowing him to plot his route through the towering hedges that must have been cultivated over a great number of years.

Eris mentally drew a map of the area before he descended into the plants, following the path that he'd noticed. However, when he turned a corner he saw that a wall of green blocked his way. He turned around, sure that his map was correct, only to see another hedge blocking the path he had walked a few seconds earlier.

He looked back at the first hedge, seeing that it was now closer to him. The same was true for the second hedge wall that had popped up, giving Eris an idea. He felt one of the side walls, noticing that it wasn't plant matter at all; instead they were comprised of plastic.

He walked to where the two walls would meet if they kept moving and made sure to keep turning around every few seconds. After about ten revolutions he found himself pressed right up against one of the walls and braced himself. The second wall behind him dropped into the floor, emerging at its next designated point. Right underneath Eris.

The wall lifted him up on to the top of the maze. He dashed off of it before it could remove itself from beneath him, standing now on one of the permanent side walls. Now that he could move around the maze freely he made it to the exit easily. Before he jumped down from the hedge he was standing on he noticed that the rollers on the scroll required a code to activate.

He remembered seeing an unassuming grey lump sitting on the floor at a dead end, but he'd ignored it in the most part. He navigated back to it and jumped down, grabbing it off of the floor and reading the cipher that was written on it. It was only simple and he decoded it quickly. Trick Master is fabulous seemed a rather arrogant thing to have the code as, but Eris wasn't going to question it.

When he finally made it back to the exit he inputted the code, watching as the rollers slowly moved upwards and slipping through the gap as soon as it was large enough. A short hallway later and he emerged into another small room where the Trick Master sat working on a crossword puzzle in a newspaper.

"Climbing on top of the hedges was ingenious I must say" he said as he wrote a group of letters into one of the columns, putting his pen down after he had done so "The way I intended for people to solve it was to cut through the moving walls. Their middles are different to the permanent ones."

"I thank you for the compliment. Now about that being worth my time."

"Never fear. I have a reward right here for you." He placed a small sphere wrapped in blue foil onto the table as he said this.

"What is it?"

"A Rare Candy. A marvellous sweet designed for Pokémon, packed with the energy and experience that they normally gain through battle. Use it wisely, for they are exceptionally expensive."

Eris looked at the unassuming morsel before storing it a small pocket that had previously contained nothing, thanking the man as he did so.

"Now I must be going. There is much I have to do" he said, bowing to the Trick Master.

The Trick Master bowed back "I understand. Visit me again in the future. I shall have additional puzzles for you to solve."

Eris laughed "That would be my pleasure. I hope you also have additional food available. It was some of the best I have ever tasted."

Not needing an answer to the statement he turned around and walked out of a third door, finding himself in a long corridor that led to a door in a tree. He climbed out back on Route 110, closing it behind him and noticing just how effective the façade was at disguising everything beneath it. To the east lay the Altering River and Oldale Town, though he couldn't obtain access back there just yet. To the west and then northwards was the Misty Mire, covering most of the path to Mauville City.

It had been quite a treacherous journey until a group of engineers had created a path that didn't sink into the bog, quickly following it up with the much faster Cycling Road. The original path still existed for those willing to risk it, or those wanting to avoid the heavy traffic that came from Slateport. Eris was a member of the latter group, which was why he had purposely exited Slateport by its central exit instead of its eastern one.

The start of the swamp was still a good hour's walk away, but the Trick Master had fed him well. If he was able to back good time he would only need camp in the swamp for one night, though for some that would be one night too many given the rough conditions and lingering stench.

He smelt the swamp long before he reached it, a further ten minutes of walking necessary before he even saw it, another fifteen after that to actually be inside the swamp boundary. It wasn't however, classed as a separate route, still bearing the name Route 110 on all official documentation regarding the pathway.

Contrary to the name, the swamp was known for having no mist or fog whatsoever, leaving many to believe it had been named by a person who was either intoxicated or had eyesight problems, though it was most likely both factors combined. What it did have was spots of solid ground bordered by spots of watery mud that could suck someone under in a matter of seconds, making travelling with a group of people highly recommended.

Eris ignored the recommendations that people put out, instead opting to test every suspicious patch that he might need to cross. And if shit hit the fan he could just send some of his Pokémon out to help him out.

Unfortunately it was too dangerous to let them out and roam around during the section he was at currently. It was notorious for having the most deaths of any part of the swamp and he didn't want to contribute to that figure.

Speaking of figures, a lone one stood in the path a short way into the distance. Eris shaded his eyes against the sun to get a better look, but they were faced away from him as they squatted down to investigate something on the floor. As he neared them they stood up and turned to profile, allowing him to see the developing breasts. His concern was addressed when she turned to face him fully.

"Hi Eris" she cried out, her voice bubbly with enthusiasm, annoyingly so "It's great to see you out here."

Eris was once again suspicious, and this time he was sure it wasn't his paranoia. He hadn't told her his name the first time they met. And it wasn't in any of his clothes or possessions to stop anyone easily discovering him if he lost them. It was an old habit that he still found useful at times. With no other way to discover his name she must have discovered it from an external source. Which meant that she was working for someone who knew who he was.

Not wanting to let his suspicion show in case she became suspicious herself he resorted to grunting at her

"I told you last time, I don't make friends."

"Aww c'mon, now that you're here we might as well have a friendly rival battle" she replied, ignoring his anti-social demeanour "Let's go, Grovyle!"


	19. Chapter 3: Part 3- May To Mauville

_**A/N:** I apologise for the long hiatus. I just haven't been motivated to write much since the conclusion of the last part. That's why this part goes out to Guest Reviewer Chris, who persuaded me to get off my ass and write for you guys. Disclaimer- I do not own Pokémon in any way. That right belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak. I do however own Eris and anyone else who does not appear in the games._

* * *

From the Pokéball came a bipedal green Pokémon, its thin arms raised defensively with razor sharp leaf clusters attached to the wrists. In fact, everything about it was thin, from its face with cruel yellow eyes to the toned legs that supported its five foot three body. It assumed a bouncing motion, shifting its weight from clawed foot to clawed foot as it took in the surroundings, inflating its chest in a show of strength. Its underbelly was a pale red; a green stripe much like a belt on its midriff. Atop its head was a long curving leaf that tapered to a point, two shorter, straighter ones acting like tails.

_Grovyle- The Wood Gecko Pokémon. The leaves that grow out of its body help break up its form, much like a ghillie suit, allowing it to hide from prey or predators. Its legs and arms are heavily developed from living in the forests and jungles and are well adapted to swinging between trees with speed and ease. Research has shown that this is only used as a method of transportation to and from the colony, since no other creature has the speed to follow them to their living space. They prefer to camouflage themselves near to where their prey ventures and then strike rapidly, using the sharpened leaves on their forearms as lethal weapons. This style of battle has had such an impression on people that an entire school of combat has been constructed around it, utilising wrist blades and elbow strikes._

Eris assessed the creature as it almost imperceptibly flexed its wrists, the leaves catching the sunlight and sending verdant glimmers into his eyes. The speed of the Pokémon was astonishing, only matched by Aurelia, who soon opposed it on the rough ground. Time seemed to slow as he watched the Grovyle launch itself forwards and thinly cut Aurelia across her back. A large tongue flicked out of its mouth and licked along the cut, lapping up the blood that started to ooze out.

The attack had been so fast that Aurelia didn't even react to the pain until Grovyle had landed back on the floor and was ready to throw another attack their way.

"Watch it carefully Aurelia. Wait for it to move. If we don't take it down before it attacks again it will just use Absorb again."

The lizard-esque Pokémon flicked its tongue a second time, sensing a change in its opponent. It lowered to the ground before rocketing forwards off of the powerful leg muscles. Eris saw the legs bend but only witnessed a green blur afterwards. In response Aurelia exploded off of her back legs, the gold blur impacting with the green and sending it flying backwards, carving a deep rut in the ground.

"Momentum must be conserved I suppose" Eris mused as the Pokémon struggled to rise "Put it down Aurelia" he directed to his Pokémon, who had been carried behind the newly created ditch by her velocity. She flicked her lithe body around and rammed her head back into the Grovyle, who had just managed to stand up before being knocked back down, this time unconscious.

"Damn. I thought Grovyle would be too fast for you" May said, amazed at Aurelia's speed "I suppose if speed doesn't work I could try a defensive approach."

She returned the Grovyle and threw out another Pokéball from her belt, this time over the swamp waters and Eris saw why as a massive spherical Pokémon, at least nine feet in diameter, emerged from the tiny ball. Before it landed and forced the disease ridden water onto the land Eris saw that its tan underside was grooved and its fins were split into four finger like segments.

Eris returned Aurelia to her ball to save her from the torrent of water that came crashing down, covering his own face with his jacket to avoid inhaling any of it. Its deep blue top half was easily visible in the murky waters after it dived, taking in large amounts of water in an attempt to locate food within.

It rose back to the surface and filtered the water back out through its baleen plates, looking extremely satisfied with itself.

_Wailmer- The Ball Whale Pokémon. Wailmer are mostly empty space, possessing a small stomach and short bowel tract with which to digest their food. The heart and lungs have developed to ensure the maximum amount of respiration and circulation can be achieved by the smallest possible organs. The nervous system has been similarly developed. This is all to facilitate its preferred form of travel- bouncing. It will store portions of water from its food intake to inflate its body, increasing its surface area and allowing it to bounce on the surface of the water, expelling excess water through its nostrils, located above its eyes, to allow it to dive beneath the surface, much the inverse of submarines jettisoning ballast. It will also expel water into the air to moisten its body and allow it to survive longer on land. Though difficult to train, it is highly playful and loyal towards one who has managed to do so._

Eris released Bolt to deal with the bloated whale, but before he could issue an order he heard his opponent.

"Alright Wailmer, Water Gun!" she cried.

The great beast dipped its teeth into the hideous water, somehow inflating even more, before tipping forwards and looking directly at the pair, who shared a glance and threw themselves in opposite directions to avoid the furious blast.

"Build some charge Bolt!" Eris hollered across to his Pokémon, following it up with a sharp "Look out!" as a second shot arced towards Bolt. He dodged the jet, his claws struggling to grip the sodden ground.

"Keep up the pressure, it'll slip eventually" May yelled to her Wailmer, who dived a second time to refill its water supply. It surfaced and continued firing measured bursts, forcing Bolt to continue scrabbling around the soaked landscape, bringing a slight mirthful twinkle to Eris' tired eyes and turning one corner of his mouth upwards.

The small display of emotion was short-lived as the Wailmer dipped into the water again and his eyes hardened. As the creature emerged and prepared to fire for what would be the final time he yelled at Bolt.

"Stop moving!"

Given the situation and Bolt's temperament, this order was met by Bolt predictably stopping and turning towards his owner, growling in displeasure and sparking his fur threateningly.

"Why. The fuck. Would I _sto-_" he attempted, before being smashed by the now continuous stream issuing from the Wailmer's nostrils, much to Eris' delight and Bolt's chagrin. Unfortunately for the creature, the water was highly ionised and conducive to Eris' plan, evidenced by the spasms that coursed through the Wailmer, throwing more water out of the swamp.

The violent thrashing of the Wailmer quickly stopped and it slumped in the water. Eris quickly returned Bolt, feeling a small pain behind his eyes as he did so. The slight distraction as he wondered the cause of it made him ignorant to the Pokémon his opponent had sent out in response to her Wailmer being defeated, though when he felt the beginnings of blistering heat start to sting his face he knew who he would need.

Unclipping the ball from his belt he looked up and saw the dopey camel like Pokémon, oblivious to the fact that it was evaporating the liquid that covered the ground.

_Numel- The Numb Pokémon. The hump of Numel is filled with magma of temperatures around 2200 Fahrenheit. This magma is the source of energy for Numel, and must constantly be fuelled, meaning that it cannot stand hunger. To stop it setting fire to or melting its habitat its skin has thickened considerably, losing many nerve contacts in the process. The skin will continue to harden as it ages and is almost impervious to penetration by the time it is two years old. The lack of nerves present on the skin makes it oblivious to much of its environment and it will often require assistance to free itself from being stuck, merely because it does not realise it is stuck. Dousing the magma inside of the creature, only accessible through its mouth or the hole at the top of its hump, is one of only three ways known to stop Numel. The other two are blunt force trauma and profuse blood loss. Studies investigating how much of its brain is used are ongoing._

"Okay Numel, use Ember" May cried overenthusiastically. The Pokémon slowly pulled its oval eyes open, its brain trying to process the command and force the right muscles to operate in the correct order. Eris and Alex watched, incredulous, as it struggled to open its mouth. Had a moving snail been attached to the jaw it would have opened faster.

"So… shoot water down its throat?" Alex asked of his Trainer while they waited for the opening to be wide enough.

"Yeah. Now would be a good time to do that" Eris replied as he saw a red glow begin to develop within the creature's throat. Alex, who had spent the boring few seconds working out where to aim the shot and how much water he'd need to negate the magma, lined himself up and loosed a thin but long blast of water, almost like a rod of liquid that ended up rammed down the Numel's gullet.

The glow was rapidly extinguished and the creature slumped to the ground, its eyelids slamming down and its mouth sliding shut. May returned it to its ball, Eris doing the same for Alex.

"I lost, but it was still fun" May said as she clipped the ball back onto her own belt. When she looked up however she saw Eris storming past her.

"Yeah" he growled "Really fun starving your Pokémon."

He continued past her, but she grasped his arm in an attempt to stop him. He shook her off, grabbing her wrist and reaching round to the opposite shoulder, forcing it down and her arm further up her back, causing her to cry out in pain as the joint was twisted to near breaking point.

"Don't touch me" he whispered, the quiet voice being far scarier than if he had yelled. He released the whimpering girl and stalked off.

The sun was beginning to set, making the safe path through the swamp harder to see. Soon it would be impossible to tell the solid ground from the surrounding bogland. Infuriatingly the only wood available was that which managed to grow on the small pieces of land protruding ever so slightly above the water table.

He was thankful that it was the summer months and the air was still warm from the day. The cold of autumn and winter accounted for roughly half the deaths that occurred in the area, the other half being down to either drowning or random Pokémon attacks.

"Five into one, and one into five. The threads are out of place. It's strange; they refuse to be woven into anything else until I can't discern them from others. This one even loops back on itself. But what does it all mean Abra?"

Eris sat up from where he lay, looking further along the path and seeing a young boy walking towards him, talking mostly to himself as he knitted. Upon closer inspection Eris realised that he was knitting the fabric onto himself, the yellow Pokémon (an Abra he remembered) sat on his shoulders telepathically guiding it around the body. He stopped; the needles suddenly bare.

"How is that possible? I never run out of material" he muttered.

Eris could see he was wrong though. There was one lone thread hanging between the two needles. He couldn't explain how he could see it in the fading light but it just seemed to glow, as if it was meant for him. As if it was connected to him. As if it _was_ him.

The man looked up, noticing Eris for the first time.

"I apologise, I didn't notice you there" he said "Are you planning on camping here for the night?"

His voice was airy, much like his demeanour. Despite his obvious physical presence he didn't seem to be there at all. Eris suspected that much like a leaf in the wind, he wasn't noticed by many and went where his knitting took him. His purple hair was covered by a woollen hat of forest green that descended into a nearly floor length scarf of coral; from there strands were woven into his multi-coloured vest.

Fingerless elbow length gloves coloured a vermillion graced his forearms, a few strands from the heel of his hands coiling up the rest of his arm to connect to the vest top. The trousers, connected at the waist, were cyan and led to one bare foot and one half covered in a muddied, discoloured sock.

"I am. And what are your plans?" Eris asked.

"I feel like I should stay here tonight. I hope you don't mind. Game of chess?" the boy said, not waiting for an answer as he pulled a board from his back, a bag of pieces emerging from his pocket. He set the board up, himself as white, and moved the pawn in front of his king forwards one space, Eris replying in kind.

The game stretched on into the night, yet somehow Eris was able to see all the pieces easily. He instinctively knew where they all were. He made moves with fluid ease and practiced strategy despite having rarely played the game.

By the midgame Eris had lost most of his pawns, sacrificing them in order to remove some of his opponents more powerful pieces. In contrast the boy had maintained almost all of his pawns, slowly pushing a solid advance across the board. However, on the right hand side of the board Eris had managed to have a pawn slip through the defences and get promoted to a queen, pushing the game into the endgame.

In the closing moments of the game, just as Eris was about to completely pin the king with his two queens he noticed his opponent observing the entirety of the board, taking in everything even though it had no bearing on the outcome. The behaviour was bizarre and prompted Eris to view the board himself.

Eris had few pieces left, limited to two queens and a bishop, but there was also one of his opponent's knights located on his side of the board. The young boy on the other hand had kept over half his pawns intact, but had lost his queen early. One of his bishops was still on the board, the other having been taken after Eris had forced him to sacrifice it or risk an earlier checkmate during the midgame. His second knight had been lost in the last couple of moves, his rooks leaving the board even earlier.

The young boy had a grim look on his face as he studied the board and Eris made the final move.

"Chess can tell a lot about a person" the boy said as he packed the pieces away "I wish you a good night's sleep."

As he said this Eris noticed that his Abra glowed slightly and a purple haze descended in front of his eyes.

When he opened his eyes he saw that it was early morning. The dew was just starting to settle on the grass surrounding him and he realised that he'd made it through a night without reliving an episode from his past or being haunted by ghosts. Horribly he'd gotten so used to it that it felt wrong to not experience them. He felt far more refreshed than he had for years but at the same time he felt that pain, be it mental or physical, should have been present.

He tried to shake off the feeling but failed, instead opting to ignore it as best he could. Looking around for the strange boy and his Abra, he noticed them meditating above the boggy surface off to the side of the track. As he watched they began to float closer and closer together, glowing with an intense white light that only brightened as they neared each other. He was forced to avert his eyes by the time they were within a foot.

When he opened them again they had merged into one being; a six foot tall humanoid yellow Pokémon with two large, pointed ears sticking out from under the purple hat. Its cheeks were long and extended down into a thin snout that had drooping fur attached to the side of it. In the centre of its forehead above its narrow, closed eyes was a red star.

The torso was covered by the same multi-coloured vest, but its arms were thinner than the boy's, causing the tendrils of fabric to droop away from the skin slightly. Strangely the gloves still fitted its now clawed fingers, though the large growth of its feet had torn the half created sock away. Curving up along its back was a large furry tail. It held its right hand out and a silver spoon materialised in the air between the grasping claws.

_Kadabra- The Psi Pokémon. Kadabra constantly produces high amounts of alpha waves, even when being highly attentive. When it experiences a headache the production of these brain waves is increased dramatically to dangerous levels, as Kadabra has the ability to harness its alpha waves to manifest various effects in its environment. Much of the time it is in control of the alpha waves' effects, but the amount produced by a headache overwhelms it. In order to cope with the increased alpha waves it creates a focus, appearing most often as a silver spoon, to channel its energies through. Experiments conducted showed that when its alpha waves are out of control it has the ability to rapidly expand surrounding grey matter, effectively exploding the brain. Kadabra is always created when an Abra gains enough energy to evolve and fuses with a human who has psychic abilities._

"_Well this is a different experience. I was wondering when it would happen."_

The airy voice was appearing in his head, but unlike the other voice that occasionally decided to speak directly to his brain this one was comforting. And not hurling abuse at him every few seconds.

"_Ooh that's interesting" _it said as the Kadabra started to float off across the marshy terrain.

"What's interesting?!" Eris called after the creature but it ignored him and continued to float to the northeast. After a minute of this behaviour he watched as it descended into the ground and received a cryptic _"You'll see" _in response. The Pokémon evidently knew far more than it was letting on, but Eris realised that he wouldn't get any information by demanding it. The only left now was the rest of the long walk into Mauville.

Though the spires of solar panels that generated the energy for much of mainland Hoenn had been visible from the onset of his journey across Misty Mire it was only by early afternoon that he was able to truly appreciate their dramatic size. They were the epitome of the word 'skyscraper' and were each outfitted with a massive mass damper to stop their toppling over.

Mauville City was the densest city on record, managing to fit approximately 825,000 people into just 3.72 square miles, having a density of about 222,000 people per square mile. In order to achieve this it was also the most vertical city, the entire populace living inside of the power generators. Very few people from outside Mauville had ever gone beyond the first few floors of one of the towers, which served as rest stops for those travelling through. In fact, very few people who lived in the towers had gone beyond the few floors around where they lived, worked and purchased their goods.

As many as twenty floors in a tower could be devoted to farming and food stocks. Entire ecosystems had been created inside to allow Pokémon to live an easier lifestyle, a hybrid of traditional battery farming and free range methods.

The most prolific of the towers was the very centre one, host to the upper echelons of society, the seat of the region's government and, more importantly to Eris, the tower that held the five floors of Wattson's Gym. They were constantly updated and altered such that asking a Trainer who had visited previously for help on reaching the jovial Leader was an exercise in futility. No two tales of the construct were alike, so much so that the military often ran simulations within it to test their soldiers' response to any given threat.

Speaking of soldiers, Eris noticed the first border guards set up at the gate into the city and sighed as he noted their lax attitude. If only they knew of what could happen. He thought about going through the forest and trying to sneak in through the fencing, but it wasn't overly necessary currently. Preparing himself for the ineptitude he knew he was about to face he walked towards the gate.

The soldiers managed to surprise him. He'd expected to make it halfway through without them noticing, but they'd stopped him just after he'd gone a third of the way. The heavily muscled men blocked his path, their sleek black assault rifles held diagonally across their chests.

"Trying to sneak into Mauville are you?"

"Part of Team Magma are you?"

"What do you think we should do with him John?"

"I think we should detain him James."

"I think you should let me through" Eris said, holding up his Trainer's card and letting the sleeve of his coat fall back, displaying his bracelet and the two gleaming badges held in it. The first soldier who had spoken, James, shook his head.

"I don't think so" he said "What's to say that you aren't a spy or something?"

"Just let me through, I've shown you the required credentials" Eris said, the first tones of annoyance beginning to creep into his voice "I could always locate the head of security for the city and file a complaint that his southern Mire guards are denying access to Trainers. I'm sure Wattson would enjoy that."

The border guards scowled at the threat, but not having any reason to deny him access at the time they were forced to step out of his way. Eris knew that over time the security would be tightened as they implemented higher protocol levels, but by that time he hoped that he would have some way of circumventing them. Maybe he should ask Mr. Stone for scientific clearance.

He kept an eye on the scowling guards as much as he could while he passed them in case they wanted to try anything. Fortunately they had the few brain cells required to not make a move and he walked unimpeded until he stood at a crossroads surrounded by towers.

As he surveyed the city and the environments around it he concentrated on the north-western area, checking his PokéNav every now and again to receive extra information. Most prominent on the skyline was Mt. Chimney, a massive frustum of rock that belched ash into the sky. He hadn't paid much attention while he was in Rustboro City, but further west from Mt. Chimney was the jagged range of the Dragonfall Mountains, dominating the skies to the north of Rustboro and sheltering Fallarbor Town from the world around it.

Unfortunately the mountains failed to shield it from the onslaught of ash that descended from the volcano thanks to the northerly and north-easterly winds, and as such it and Route 113 that led out to the east were quite cruelly known as The Dead Lands. Only the hardiest of plant life was able to survive, and people didn't fare much better. The oldest recorded person had attained fifty six years in the town before vacating the mortal coil. Even worse was the battering heat that existed in the area, having caused desertification of the entirety of Route 111.

To the west was the exceptionally fertile soil that Verdanturf Town was built on, producing abnormally large crop harvests and growing tree that produced bumper fruits. Also in the area were the rocky hills that separated Verdanturf from Route 116, the same hills that the builders had been trying to construct a tunnel through.

East of the city was a river that divided the main landmass of Hoenn into two; beyond it was vast swathes of jungle that held the city of Fortree, though it was more like a colony. Further east was the second of Hoenn's large ports in Lilycove City, also the home of retail. Beyond were the most heavily sailed consumer shipping lane and the islands of Mossdeep and Evergrande.

As he moved the cursor of his PokéNav back onto Mauville he noticed one piece of information that intrigued him. A place known as Rydel's Cycles existed, apparently offering free bicycles for people who had travelled certain distances.

Eris emerged from Tower Five, his new Mach Bike stowed in pieces inside his coat and backpack. It was quite a feat of engineering, the frame weighing less than a pound and being powered by a lightweight dynamo that turned the cyclist's own pedalling into energy to increase the rotation of the wheels. It was able to be deconstructed to be stored in smaller pieces and the dynamo was able to inflate the wheels when needed. The wheels were even strong enough for heavy duty off-road riding and still it managed to weigh only slightly more than seven pounds when broken up.

As he walked towards to the tower that held Gym he heard a commotion and sped his pace up to investigate, slowing again when he saw who was arguing. Wally was stood in front of the doors having a heated conversation with a man who seemed to be his father, or a close relation of the sort.

"But why can't I challenge the Gym Uncle?" he said. He seemed to be slightly less timid than Eris remembered, though it could have simply been a cause of who he was talking to.

"Your father and I don't believe you and Ralts are strong enough yet. You may have been able to defeat Roxanne and Brawly, but Wattson is far more difficult."

Eris continued to approach, needing to enter the tower himself, and was seen by Wally.

"Oh, Eris. Um, could I ask you a favour? Can- can I battle you? I want to prove to my Uncle that Ralts and I can do this."

"I don't see why not" Eris said and he sent out Arnold. Wally released his Ralts, the small Pokémon looking even more timid than Wally.

"You're uncle's right you know?" Eris said "You don't yet have the strength to beat Wattson."

"Y-you don't know that" Wally retorted, but he seemed on the verge of breaking down.

Eris reply was short and aimed towards his Pokémon.

"Metal Claw."

Arnold crawled forwards and slashed the white dress covering the Pokémon with one of his forelegs, causing it to fall backwards and cry out. The psychic link it had to its Trainer caused him to step back as well, tears starting to fall from his eyes.

"Come on Wally, let's go back to Verdanturf" his uncle said softly, putting an arm round the young boy's shoulders. Wally returned his Ralts and tearfully walked away with his uncle, leaving the entrance to the tower clear for Eris. He stepped up to them and they slid open automatically, allowing him entry.

To his immediate right was a lift that led to the upper floors above the Gym where the upper class lived and worked. In front of him was a bizarre arrangement of electrical grids and traps. On the floor was a bright blue button. He stepped on it and watched as one group of grids was disengaged, another being activated.

The rest of the floor was in the same vein, merely requiring careful footing to reach each individual switch as he slowly made his way over to the stairs. Unfortunately, the second floor was nowhere near as simple.

The moment he had left the last step he felt the floor underneath him lurch sideways, sending him tumbling downwards towards a newly revealed set of spikes. Just before he connected with them the floor swapped its angle completely, throwing him up into the air slightly before sliding down towards a second set of spikes. Other than the floor there were no other obstacles, leading Eris to realise that it was designed to challenge his balance.

He waited until the angle shifted again and brought his knees to his chest while he was in the air, extending them on the descent. He stumbled slightly but managed to remain standing, staggering towards the centre of the floor. As he got there the angle shifted a third time, but being in the centre of the floor meant it had little effect on him, allowing him to make it quickly to the stairs.

The third floor seemed deceptively simple; a narrow straight corridor in front and a pit with a ladder bolted to the side of it to his left. He started to walk down the corridor, but as soon as he was a foot inside the wall behind him slammed down and the roof started to rapidly descend. He bolted for the other end but was forced to bend low as the roof continued its descent. Before it could crush him the floor underneath him opened and he fell onto a slick surface that transported him to the bottom of the pit at the start of the corridor.

He clambered out and faced the corridor again, backing up as far as he could before sprinting forwards. He made it halfway before he was forced to bend slightly, going fully into a crouch within a few yards of the end. Realising he wasn't going to make it before the floor opened again he lengthened his stride once and powered off the extended foot, throwing his body horizontal and slipping through the gap between roof and floor as it slid open.

He landed heavily but stood quickly, brushing himself off. It was then he noticed an opening in the side wall, a conveyer belt ready to transport items from one side to the other. Eris cursed at not having noticed the hole on the other side; it would have easily allowed him to make it through. Still cursing himself for not observing his surroundings fully he climbed the stairs to the fourth floor.

Two weapons sat on the table in front of him; a longbow and a crossbow. Three targets sat at the other end of the range, each with a progressively smaller bull's-eye and at a greater distance than the last. Both of the weapons had twenty units of ammunition available to them; Eris selected the crossbow and loaded a bolt into it. The first target was a mere five and a half yards away and the shot was easy. He pulled the string back and loaded a second bolt, taking aim at the next target placed eleven yards away.

Its bull's-eye was about the size of a human head but his skill was rusty and he missed the shot by a couple of inches, quickly reloading and adjusting his aim, taking the shot and hitting it the second time. The third target, placed twenty two yards away with the smallest bull's-eye equivalent to an average melon, prompted Eris to swap to the longbow.

He took his stance and nocked the arrow, drawing the string all the way back to his cheek. His first shot impacted the outer reaches of the target, the second being within two rings of the centre on the opposite side. The third shot connected with the yellow ring, having used the previous two to alter his aim enough.

He set the bow back on the table and walked through the door that had slid open, walking up the stairs to the final floor, where he was greeted by a complex grid of symbols and patterns. Two keypads, one each for numbers and letters, flanked a computer terminal below the grid. Eris guessed that solving the grid puzzle would give him the alphanumeric code to unseal the large door on which the grid was mounted.

He stared at the screen, trying to make sense of the symbols. He realised one group depicted a game of tic-tac-toe. It prompted him to make the first move, but the game quickly ended in a draw, as they always do. It prompted him to play again but he denied it. Looking at the other symbols he saw a game of rock-paper-scissors as well as something that seemed to depict Nim. Another was a game of Solitaire, a fourth a maze-like construct.

Eris slammed his hands on the keyboard in frustration and stepped back, gripping his hair tightly. He thought about entering seemingly random codes into the keypads, but rejected it in case he could only attempt a certain number of combinations. The only other way he could think of was to overload the circuit, so he sent Bolt out.

Predictably the Pokémon was still annoyed at Eris, who felt the pain behind his eyes returning, though he welcomed it. The lack of pain had been slightly disturbing, unnatural even.

"You're a bastard for making me get soaked in that fucking water" Bolt snarled at him.

"You can kill me later if you want" Eris said nonchalantly "What I want to know now is if you can overload this circuit."

"Even if I could why would I?" the Pokémon asked smugly.

"Because I know of a group of people just to the north who like to battle and if you help me we can go battle them and you can get that destructive urge out. For the time being."

Bolt sniffed disinterestedly "Shame, because I don't have the energy to flood the circuit."

Eris thought about the words, trying to remember something. He reached inside his coat and pulled out the blue wrapped item, remembering that the Trick Master had described it as packed with energy.

"Would this help?" Eris asked, holding it up for Bolt to see.

The canine Pokémon had lain down in boredom but stood back up after seeing the Rare Candy.

"Yeah" he said slowly, catching the white sphere in his mouth after Eris unwrapped it and chucked it to him. As he bit down he stiffened before glowing brightly, growing to seven feet, legs, tail and head lengthening considerably. When the light faded Eris saw that Bolt was now a pale blue, yellow tufts of fur covering his foreleg ankles. A larger group of yellow fur surrounded his pelvis and crotch, four pieces extending spike-like just above the pelvis on either side.

His tail had grown and was stunted back towards his body, growing halfway up his snout. His snout had a yellow streak running down the centre of it, connecting to the mane of fur that surrounded his skull, culminating in a trio of spikes, the centre one taller than the other two. The fur extended down to his neck and up his cheeks to just below his eyes.

_Manectric- The Discharge Pokémon. Manectric are a massive improvement over their pre-evolutionary form Electrike, having the ability to collect ions from the atmosphere in its mane. The older Manectric is the larger its mane and thus the more ions it can collect at a greater rate. However, as it is constantly absorbing ions even without wanting to it must periodically discharge its mane back into the atmosphere, often causing thunderclouds or lightning bolts. Because of the high amount of ions in the mane it is possible that lightning bolts can randomly be drawn to Manectric even when other, taller alternatives are available. The lack of control it has over this effect has the capability to start forest fires. The higher control it has over the ions in its mane the higher voltage or current it can use to attack its prey. Some people use Manectric to power small generators when they're camping or in the home._

"Now this is something I _like_" Bolt said, his new voice deep and throaty "This place is full of the good stuff."

Eris backed further away from Bolt as his mane started to crackle with electricity, small bolts leaping out and striking the metal surfaces that surrounded him. He focused on the computer terminal and released the energy into it. The pair watched as it coursed into the machine, though it seemed to be designed to take the high amount of electricity. The grid of symbols faded from the door and heavy clunks echoed into the room as the locks disengaged.

"I still want to hurt you" Bolt said.

"Later" Eris replied as he withdrew the towering Pokémon, watching as the vault door swung noiselessly open.

* * *

_**A/N: **Next part, which I promise will go out at the very latest on the 5th, we face Wattson. And then we get our third Interlude, the title of which shall be Heart of Ice. Once again, thanks to Chris. Procrastinator's like me need more people like you. And in response to your surprise regarding Eris not liking Nuzleaf, he was willing to try with Seedot since it didn't have any glaring weaknesses, but since Nuzleaf, at least in this universe, loses all of its abilities when its nose is so much as touched he boxed it since he sees a thing like that as massively exploitable. Please tell me if that made sense or if you need further clarification on anything that appears in the Balance universe._


	20. Chapter 3: Part 4- Wattson

"Wahahahah" a booming voice echoed from within the vault chamber "It's always good to see new strategies."

The voice was coming from a portly man who was sat behind a long table, a set of blueprints spread out in front of him. He wore a thick, dark brown sweater with a lightning bolt inside a black circle embroidered onto each upper arm. He wore bright yellow cargo trousers, the pockets bulging with supplies.

He had a completely white full beard that stuck out just below his jaw on either side with quite a low cheek line. The top of his head was bald, but the hair he did have gathered at the crown and stuck out half a foot or so. Eris couldn't discern the colour of his eyes because they were too surrounded by smile lines, another few being added currently.

"What did you think of my Gym?" Wattson asked "It was fun wasn't it?"

"That depends on your interpretation" Eris said.

Wattson tossed his head back and let out a great laugh, his shoulders rolling with each exhalation.

"Maybe you'd prefer my latest idea. What do you think of a city-wide hunt for a key, carried by a mechanical Raikou?" he said as he folded his blueprint with expert precision into a plane and threw it towards Eris, who plucked it out of the air.

Unfolding it he saw a large tiger-esque Pokémon with sabre teeth, a four pointed star on its muzzle, a mane that seemed to represent rain clouds and sharply angled tail with a spark formation on the end.

Looking at it he felt a stab of pain going through his head, unlike anything he had ever experienced. He saw a dark room, machinery surrounding him, a Pokémon crying out in pain. In front of him stood a thin man with purple hair and a large collar that surrounded the back of his head, much like half of an Elizabethan collar, wearing sunglasses despite the darkness.

He blinked and looked around, finding himself back in the vault room. He looked down at the blueprints he was holding and screamed in pain, dropping them and clutching his head with both hands. He collapsed onto his knees and was lost in fragments again.

The floor opened to reveal a full tank of water and four platforms floating on top of it. The thin man sent out a giant bat onto one of the platforms and released an angler fish into the water. Eris gripped a Pokéball and threw it onto the battlefield.

"Oh ho ho, eager to fight. Was that whole headache thing intended for me to drop my guard? Alright then, Magnemite can start."

Eris looked up and saw a floating steel ball two feet in diameter with magnets attached to either side, an eye in the centre and three screws placed at sequential points around the sphere. He struggled to his feet and noticed that he had released Alex into the vault; the blueprints lay forgotten on the floor.

"Did you store mud from earlier?" Eris gasped out.

"Yeah" Alex replied.

"Then use Mud Shot."

Alex opened his mouth wide and a gurgling sound appeared from within. As the Magnemite buzzed uncertainly around the vault, Alex tracking it, Eris pulled out his Pokédex.

_Magnemite- The Magnet Pokémon. Using the magnets located on either side of its body and an internal electricity supply it can generate a personal magnetic field that is opposed to that of the planet's. By adjusting the strength of this field it can float at varying heights and travel with ease around urban environments. However, this has the unfortunate side effect of damaging electronic data storage and attracting or repelling objects constructed of paramagnetic metals at distances up to 300 feet. It loses its limited flight ability if its internal supply runs out, leading it to attach itself to power lines._

A thick stream of mud spewed from Alex's throat and coated the Magnemite completely, insulating its anti-gravity potential and bringing it crashing to the floor.

"I can see this is going to be difficult for me to win" Wattson said, rubbing a beard before his face cracked into a smile "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try! Voltorb!"

From the Pokéball came a far larger Pokéball, three feet in diameter. However, unlike a regular Pokéball this one didn't have the lock on the front. Eris stepped back in shock when it rolled over to reveal a pair of extremely angry eyes and a furrowed brow that grew even more furrowed when it noticed its opponent.

_Voltorb- The Ball Pokémon. Voltorb isn't truly alive, though no one knows the true circumstances behind its creation. What is known is that a secret experimental nuclear power plant in Kanto experienced a critical meltdown, causing the deaths of 40 researchers. Hazmat Recovery Teams who entered the area brought out the first Voltorb. Original tests attempted exposing Pokéballs to alpha and beta radiation and resulted in nothing. Tests with gamma radiation are still ongoing but thus far results are the same. One school of thought believes that a Pokémon is required to be inside the Pokéball in order to create a Voltorb, though ethical concerns have heavily delayed testing. It also has the ability to release large amounts of energy from within its body in various forms. The most well-known of these releases is a large combustive release alongside a sphere of displaced air, commonly referred to as an explosion. It faints after performing one of these releases but the reintroduction of energy into its body revitalises it._

"Sonicboom Voltorb!" Wattson cried.

The Pokémon focused its angry little eyes on Alex and suddenly a horrendous boom filled the vault. The sound caused Eris to cover his ears and filled his vision with the strange dark room again. He heard the sound over and over again, a yellow blur shooting past him continuously. Collapsing to his knees at the pain in his ears he saw the blur halt, revealing a yellow tiger like creature. Its tail was jet black, as were its eyes and the mane was an exceptionally deep purple. It opened its mouth and roared, snapping Eris back to the present.

He didn't know what the fragmented images were, but he couldn't remember anything about them, and already they were fading from his mind. He had more pressing matters to worry out currently though. Alex had taken the attack head on and had been driven back a few feet, sliding on the slick membrane of his mud covered feet.

"Mud Shot one more time."

The Voltorb met the same fate as the Magnemite before it, the force of the mud sending it rolling all the way back to its Trainer, who swiftly returned it to its ball.

"Wohoho. Nice try but I've still got a bit of fight left in me!" Wattson cried, still overly jovial despite his poor situation. He seemed like the kind of man who could be happy even as the world fell apart around him.

"It's time to meet my star Pokémon, Magneton."

The creature that emerged from the small capsule appeared to simply be a triangular amalgamation of three Magnemite, but the data from his Pokédex told him otherwise.

_Magneton- The Magnet Pokémon. Research is still inconclusive as to the origins of Magneton. No natural evolution of Magnemite has been witnessed and attempting to force Magnemite into evolving has proven difficult. Though it would seem to be three Magnemite drawn together by electromagnetic forces, this explanation fails to explain the 900% increase in weight where one would expect a 200% increase. It also fails to explain how it is able to act with one mind. However, two Magnemite that have been joined together by virtue of their electromagnetic attraction do not exhibit the same properties as a Magneton. What is known about this bizarre creature is that it can alter the wavelength of its electromagnetic waves to send messages, boil water and destroy cells. Their passive production of waves leads to all electronics not properly shielded being destroyed._

"Magneton, use Supersonic!"

The trio of metal spheres began rotating at a rapid rate and let out a high pitched screeching despite not having any mouth. Alex slapped his flippers up to his head, the screeching evidently affecting him.

"Alex, try Mud Shot again!"

The Marshtomp reared his head back to spit the mud, but being affected by the Supersonic attack he was staggering drunkenly around the chamber. It was clear that if the shot hit it would be a lucky one, but luck wasn't on Alex's side. He flexed his throat and released the stream of mud… directly at the wall in front of him. It rebounded off the surface and hit him square in the face, sending him stumbling backwards, the effect worsened by his confused state.

"Hahaha!" Wattson exclaimed. If he didn't periodically issue orders to his Pokémon or take the time to breathe Eris would have thought that he never ceased his laughter.

"Use Sonicboom Magneton."

Eris watched as the Pokémon started to rotate again and he realised just how beat up Alex was looking. As the spheres picked up speed he shrugged both straps of his backpack off, catching the right one in the crook of his elbow and swinging it round, grabbing onto one of the pockets. Unzipping it and reaching inside he procured an orange coloured Potion bottle.

He ran towards his Pokémon and sprayed him with the Super Potion, its more concentrated formula being absorbed faster through the blue membrane and repairing some of the external and internal damage. Eris had been able to save Alex from being taken out completely by the attack, but wasn't able to stop the boom as the displaced air broke the sound barrier and slammed into him and his Pokémon, this time throwing them both back.

Eris stood, ignoring the pain coursing through him. He was about to issue another command when he saw the Magneton rotating for a third time and he was forced to dive sideways to avoid the next blast of air. Alex, still disoriented from earlier, wasn't as lucky and was forced back even further.

He tried to retaliate without waiting for a command, but on attempting to launch the mud he toppled backwards. Eris pulled Alex's Pokéball off of his belt and recalled his Pokémon to stop him from hurting himself even more. In his place Arnold was sent out, only to be promptly hit by another sound wave. Fortunately the weight of his armour held him in place.

"Hrmm. A smart choice. I wonder what'll happen if I Thunder Wave!"

This time the group of spheres stayed stationary, instead stiffening and flattening themselves out, making the magnets rigid. A small, weak current visibly ran through the magnets, arcing from pole to pole. When it surrounded the creature it pointed its magnets towards Arnold. The current shot out and connected with Arnold's steel shell, being conducted through it and coming easily into contact with his black skin hidden underneath. Now it was his turn to stiffen as the weak current paralysed his muscles

"Power through Arnold. Mud Slap!"

Eris watched as Arnold initially struggled to move, but something in his eyes changed and he slammed one of his little forelegs into the metal before tearing up the ground and flicking the chunks towards the Magneton, most of them striking it square in the topmost eye, forcing it shut.

It seemed that the eye at the top was the primary eye, because the creature rotated clockwise as Eris was looking at it such that its leftmost eye was now at the top vertex of the triangle, the closed one at the right vertex.

"Hohoho a good attempt, but Magneton still has two thirds of its aiming capacity. Sonicboom!"

Unfortunately for Wattson, it seemed like two thirds was too little as Eris was forced to dive aside again, aggravating his wounds further, but it proved that the Magneton couldn't aim too well with only two eyes. Eris wondered how well it would do with only one eye and, while it was readjusting itself to take another shot, he issued the next command.

"Do it again!"

Arnold forced his way through his paralysed muscles and tore another chunk of the vault floor, flinging it towards his opponent and managing to disable another one of the Magneton's eyes. Its form rotated slowly again, though it was visibly struggling to co-ordinate the movement. It was possible that the eyes were directly linked to whatever brain centre it had, and removing the sight from them had an adverse effect on the entire being.

"Supersonic" Wattson cried, though he seemed slightly less jovial than earlier.

Eris worried that the sound would still confuse Arnold, but as the Magneton released it Eris realised that it had to be targeted to have a full effect, as he saw Arnold shaking his head in slight pain but not becoming completely confused by the sound waves. The Magneton had to be lacking any depth perception since Eris noticed it was pointing right at the ceiling, the waves being diffracted and weakened.

"Arnold, take out its last eye and I think it'll go down" Eris told his Pokémon, noting that Wattson's normally smile ridden face had at the least a neutral expression. Eris believed he was incapable of frowning, though he could be wrong. Both Trainers watched, the apprehension in the air palpable, as Arnold tried to force his muscles to respond for the third time. Mercifully for Eris he managed to and a final set of metallic chunks flew through the air and struck the third and final eye dead centre, knocking the creature of the air completely.

Eris looked at Wattson as he returned his Pokémon, but to his surprise the largest grin was plastered across the Gym leader's face and raucous laughter erupted from him

"Wohoho! My boy. Hahaha! A better battle. Hehehe! I've never had! Wahahah!" he boomed "You and your Pokémons' drive to win is beyond anything I've ever seen. It was electrifying! I must say though, you seem rather dour. You know what they say, laugh a little, live a little. I follow the opposite, laugh a lot live a lot."

He burst into another thundering bought of laughter as if to emphasise his point, but managed to compose himself enough to unlock a second safe located behind him.

The first of the three items he procured from the safe was a yellow badge of concentric circles split into two colours with two prongs sticking out of opposite sides. The circles got lighter as they got smaller; the outermost layer on the bottom being a dulled gold while the innermost was lemon-like in colouration, whereas the top half started with a deep navy blue and progressed to an aquamarine.

"For besting me in wits and combat, I present to you the Dynamo Badge. May it power your journey… and your humour!" Wattson launched into another bout of laughter and Eris was admittedly forced to raise a corner of his mouth in regards to the Leader's antics.

"The second prize is this TM for Shock Wave. Though not the strongest of electrical attacks it is the most effective. Proper training ensures that it covers a wide enough area with enough speed that nothing can avoid it. Much like I can't avoid laughter!" Wattson said, forcing down giggles that threatened to escape him as he handed over the bright yellow disc to Eris.

"And finally, the third of the most used moves in this region, I give you Rock Smash. Though many Pokémon have the capability to break regular rocks, sometimes the rock is just too big. Larger and tougher Pokémon may stand a chance but they waste so much energy in the process. Rock Smash teaches them how to conserve the energy and break rocks efficiently. Unfortunately the technique isn't much use on a battle field."

Eris took the coated disc from Wattson, its deep burgundy colour indicating it was a Fighting Type move. He inserted both discs into his TM case and slotted the badge into its slot on his bracelet. He admired it for a moment before removing it and inserting it the opposite way round. Now when it caught the light it looked like the sun setting over open water and it felt right.

"Do I have to go back through the challenges if I want to leave?" Eris asked.

Wattson predictably broke down in laughter again.

"Only if you! Hoohoo! Want to! Haha!" he wiped away a tear that was starting to bead in the corner of his eye "There's a lift on your right as you leave. Come back sometime!"

"I will do. Thank you Wattson."

"No thank you! I thought I was in danger of running out of things to laugh about. Now all I have to do is call you up! Wahahahah!"

Eris shook his head and turned away, a rare smile forming on his face as he did so.

"I saw that" Wattson cried.

"There was nothing to see" Eris replied, though the smile lingered.


	21. Interlude- Heart of Ice

The deep blue water steadily lightened as the seal swam closer towards the surface from the hundred foot depth, its belly slightly filled with herring from the hunt. It breached the water and took a deep breath of the arctic air, not noticing the boat that cut through the water behind it.

Inside of the boat sat a man with a browned skin tone, his body covered with a brown and white parka fashioned of caribou hair and skin. Underneath he wore another layer of caribou skin, the fur facing towards his skin to trap more of his body heat along with the intestines of a whale to provide water resistance.

Held in his right hand, raised above his head, was a wooden shaft with a barbed head of carved ivory, a float attached to it. At the other end of the harpoon was a long line. He threw the javelin towards the seal, the ivory head piercing the body of the creature, the float helping to keep it on the surface while the line allowed him to draw the creature back to his _qajaq_.

He tied the line to the kayak and attached a new one to his harpoon, picking up his paddle and moving to a new position on the water to hunt more seals.

By the end of his hunt he had four _netsik_ attached to his kayak as he paddled back to the ice floe where he had constructed an igloo to spend the hunting trip in. It was only a small construct, but it served its purpose of living quarters for the time being. He clambered out of the kayak and onto the solid ice, hauling the four ringed seals up next to him.

Inside of the igloo he filled a pot with snow and set it above the _kudlik_, or stone lamp, a crescent shaped cup of carved soapstone. He had previously filled it with whale blubber he had brought with him alongside Artic cottongrass that was used as the wick. When the snow had melted he took it back outside and dripped it into each of the seals' mouths.

"May the hunger of Sedna be sated" he said.

He moved the seals back into the centre of the expansive floe to avoid any whales trying to steal them away and most likely capsizing the floe in the process. His team of dogs was waiting at the shoreline to transport them back home, but they were currently untethered and settling down to rest as the night came in. He chose to do the same.

As the morning struck he gathered up his required equipment and paddled back to the shore in his kayak, the four seals once again attached to it. At the shore sat his faithful husky dogs, ready and waiting to take the load of the seals back to his homestead, along with any caribou he caught along the way.

When he stood on the ice on the other side of the water he was greeted by Innugati, his lead dog, standing bolt upright and barking at something behind him. He quickly hauled his catch onto the shore in fear of a whale attack, not noticing that the ice floe he had camped on for the past two nights slowly dropped below the waterline.

When he finally got back to his family he had slain three caribou, the sled laden with their carcasses. His wife, Kayuqtuq, came out from their tent to greet him and to help skin the hunt. Just as they were removing the bladder from the last caribou his father, Aviqming, arrived back from his own hunt. He had ventured further inland and found a large herd of caribou migrating westwards; seven of them had been brought back by his powerful squad of dogs.

Also with him was his granddaughter. He had been teaching her how to hunt, something Kumaglak was not pleased with. He felt it was not the woman's place to be a hunter. It was his view that she should stay with her mother, preparing and cooking the food he and his father brought back, as well as sewing clothes for them all out of the skins of the animals.

"Kumaglak, your daughter is getting better with the bow by the day" Aviqming said as they brought the caribou into the centre of their camp.

"She should be getting better at looking after her brother so that he can use the bow and spear when the time comes" Kumaglak grumbled.

"Stop being so uptight about it. Soon I shall go join our ancestors, and you cannot bring in enough food on your own. You will need someone else to help with the hunt, and Atanarjuat will not be old enough."

Kumaglak turned away from his father and started to process the caribou he had brought back with him.

"We can discuss it later" he said as he began to skin the creatures.

Aviqming joined him "You can discuss it with her on your next hunting trip."

"I'm not taking her out onto the open water" he snapped.

The two men continued to bicker and argue about the girl's fate as they worked on the deceased animals.

Inside the tent the girl in question sat. She was about 18 and unmarried, a rarity in their culture. Her black hair flowed down the nape of her neck and into the hood of her seal parka, the darkness contrasting with the pale grey of the sealskin. She was crafting a new set of trousers, made of seal intestines, to keep out any water when she went hunting in the ocean.

She knew her father was displeased with her choices, whereas her grandfather was far more supporting. On the next hunt though she was going to go out into the ocean, no matter what her father said. Her mother could easily look after her brother while the rest of them were away. She certainly didn't want to be looking after him.

He was alright she supposed, he just made far too much noise for her liking. The longer she was away from him the better. She heard a commotion outside. It was most likely her father and grandfather getting into another one of their rows, but it sounded different. For once they both seemed to be in agreement, and were confused.

She went outside and saw them both shielding their eyes from the sunlight, looking out to something far in the east. She copied their stance and was surprised by what she saw. On what had been a flat expanse of ice only minutes earlier now had a strange bulge protruding from it. As the three watched it moved slightly upwards. It repeated this process every few seconds until it was taller than anything any of them had experienced.

"How is it doing that?" Aviqming pondered "Are the spirits taunting us with an apparition, or is it a message?"

"Maybe I should investigate it" Kumaglak said, moving towards the strange protrusion.

"Be careful not to anger the spirits" his father warned.

"I will be" Kumaglak replied gravely.

Half an hour passed without him reaching the mass, making the two still stood at their camp realise just how big it really was. By the forty five minute mark he was just an insignificant speck climbing up its surface. He stopped and started to climb back down, returning to his family after an hour and a half.

"It is nothing but a massive chunk of ice as far as I can tell There's no way to climb very high up it either. If the spirits are trying to tell us something they're being highly obtuse about it."

Aviqming thought deeply "I should contact the spirits. Maybe they will give me additional guidance."

"Well we aren't going to be receiving any guidance if we stay here staring into the distance. We should go eat before you contact our ancestors, father" Kumaglak stated, turning back towards the tent.

She watched as the rest of her family fell asleep, ready to journey to the strange mountain of ice. Her grandfather's contact with the spirits earlier had confused them all greatly. Apparently the ice was a blight on the land, an evil and unnatural presence. They had warned him not to go near it, as they didn't know exactly what it was, but they hoped that it would soon leave, as it had left the previous locations it had been found in.

Of course, she herself was further warned by her father and grandfather not to go near it for fear of angering the spirits. However, she ignored them and was planning to go investigate while they all slept. The dogs fortunately wouldn't warn them of her leaving the area, and they were all heavy sleepers. She should easily be able to make it out to the ice and back again before anyone noticed she had left. She felt drawn to the mountain, an indescribable pull in her core.

She stood and walked out of the tent, looking out to the east. The mountain had seemingly gotten bigger, which could only mean one thing. It was moving towards them, getting closer with each passing second. Even as she watched it grew in size, evidently dragging itself across the permafrost with frightening speed. She set off, the dogs curiously tracking her but making no move to halt her progress.

It took her a far shorter amount of time to reach the ice than it had taken her father; she was starting to climb the behemoth within twenty five minutes. It seemed to have pathways crafted onto its surface especially for her, she never saw them until she looked twice, and swore they weren't there the first time.

The even stranger thing was that the ice seemed to be vibrating beneath her feet. When she stood still, looking for the paths that appeared without warning, it sounded like the ice was singing to her. As she neared the top of the icy mountain she decided to listen closer and placed her ear as close as she dared to the surface.

The words made no sense and she focused on the music; sorrowful music that sang of death and betrayal, pain and suffering. And yet, it sounded like it welcomed her, like it was calling her home. She removed her ear and continued to climb, eventually reaching the peak of the mountain where a surprise awaited her.

An igloo had been erected on top of the large structure. Even stranger was when she investigated inside, she found a couple of her father's tools that he must have forgotten to take with him when he left the igloo. But that couldn't have been possible. He said that he couldn't climb that far up, so how were any of his tools in there? How was the structure even there?

As she pondered these mysteries she noticed a small hole carved into the centre of the igloo, something that couldn't have been implemented during construction. She felt that it was the ice mountain guiding her again, especially since the singing seemed to be emanating from the hole.

Though it was highly unnatural she decided to throw caution to the wind and dropped into the hole. It turned and she landed heavily on the cold surface before continuing to slide deeper into the mountain. The slide twisted and curved at an exceptionally steep angle, causing her to pick up speed at a rapid rate until the walls were just a crystalline blur. Eventually the angle of the slide shot up dramatically and she barely made it over the crest of the bump before it ended in a large chamber within the mountain.

She stood and observed the chamber; the sunlight from outside was not able to penetrate the thick walls and yet it was somehow lit in a strange yellow light. It was then she noticed that one wall had seven yellow dots on it, five in a horizontal line with one above and below the central point. It was these dots that were providing the light for the chamber.

She wondered what powered these strange yellow flames and how they didn't melt any of the ice around them.

"_It is not fire."_

The voice spoke in her mind and had no discernable origin, until the ice in the centre of the floor cleared. The cloudiness vanished and she saw a woman sitting cross-legged far below.

"_You have been called here to prove yourself."_

She wondered how the woman could survive, knowing it was pointless to talk. The ice was far too thick for sound to get through.

"_I have been gifted by the one I guard. It keeps me alive, but I grow weary of my vigil. You are the one born in this generation to replace me."_

What was the woman talking about? Why should she replace her?

"_You must prove you have the ice."_

The woman was making no sense and she began to ignore the voice in her mind as she searched for an exit. One sentence made it through her block though.

"_You may escape your father, and watch every hunt from every angle, experiencing both the hunters and the hunted."_

As she wondered how that could ever be possible she saw a hole opening a few paces away from her, the way out.

"_Bring one you love here if you wish for what I promise."_

She considered the possibilities before climbing into the new hole that had opened, riding this second slide to the base of the ice mountain, knowing what she had to do. When she emerged she realised that the entire time she had been on and inside of the ice it had been moving still closer to their camp. Now it was a mere five minutes journey from the tent and she was quickly back inside.

When morning came she was awoken by her father pulling her out of the tent along with her brother and as many possessions as they could. It was only when she fully woke up she realised why. The mountain of ice was bearing down on their tent, the dogs having barely escaped being crushed by it. They were the ones that warned her grandfather of the danger and he had begun the process of removing as many items as he could from the tent. Once they were all outside they noticed that it was no longer moving, but they still took down the tent, and put it back up where they were sure that the ice wouldn't crush it.

Though they were worried, Kumaglak and Aviqming still had to hunt, though they left her behind after she asked them to. Kumaglak was pleased she was seemingly becoming more like a proper woman, though Aviqming was concerned that Kumaglak was pressuring her. He let it slide though and ventured off to the ocean, Kumaglak travelling to the plains. Meanwhile, Kayuqtuq was creating some clothes from the previous day's catch as well as preserving the meat for eating later. This left her to entertain her brother.

Atanarjuat ran over to her and she picked him up and stored him in the hood of her parka before walking back to the ice mountain.

"Mama said we should na touch the ice" he complained from behind her head.

What Mama didn't know wouldn't hurt her she thought as she began to climb the ice, the paths appearing much faster this time, as though it knew she didn't have as much time, or maybe because it welcomed her far more readily.

"I'ma scared" her brother whimpered as they neared the summit and he began to shake, though the movements decreased as she climbed into the igloo, as though he recognised it in some primal way. He stilled completely when she put him above the ice slide and she heard his cries of joy echo up through the shaft. She jumped in herself, shooting through the ice until she ended up in the chamber with Atanarjuat.

"_Is he the one you love the most?"_

She thought hard about the question. Her father was definitely out of the question what with his narrow view of the world. Her mother was alright but paid little attention to her nowadays as she left hunting more and more. Her grandfather she had removed all feelings for since she knew he was to join the spirits soon and she didn't want to feel an emotional backlash when he did.

That only left her brother.

"_Good. Bring him to the centre."_

She did as instructed and watched emotionlessly as the ice grew up around him, sealing him inside with a small amount of air. The ice thickened until she couldn't hear his whimpers and moans any more. He still had enough space to move around in and he did so with vigour, using up much of the air he had rapidly.

"_Watch as he dies. Prove you have the ice."_

Watch she did. She simply stood and watched as tears fell from his eyes, as he weakly beat his fists against the solidified water and screamed at her. Maybe to help him, maybe questioning what she was doing. She watched as he fell to his knees and grasped at the air before giving up and collapsing further, curling his tiny body into a ball. He twitched a few times before being stilled completely, his supply of air having completely run out. She never shed a tear, her facial expression never changed; she felt nothing at having killed her brother.

"_You have the ice. Thank you."_

She felt a strange sensation coming over her as she sank into the ice. It wasn't cold. Instead it replaced the cold that surrounded her every day of her life with a gentle nothingness. As she watched the woman who was in the hole was sucked deeper into the ice, vanishing entirely within seconds. She replaced the woman, feeling no hunger or thirst and ignored the passage of time entirely.

She saw her family mourn her and her brother. She saw them grow old and die while she did not. She saw everything that happened on the ice and much of what happened across the globe. Wherever there was water, so was she. She watched as empires rose and fell time and time again. She was connected to it all. She felt all the pain, suffering, death and sorrow. She was connected to it all. And she felt nothing.

Her eyes snapped open. Something was different. She looked around and saw that she was no longer in the hole; instead she stood above it. She looked over to the seven yellow dots, the items her entire life was devoted to. She was their guardian. It was then they did something unexpected, something new. They flashed.

.- / -. . .- / -. ..- .- .-. -.. .. .- -. / .- .-. .-. .-. - .- -.- …. . … .-.-.- / .. - / .. … / -… . -. .. -. -. .. -. -. .-.-.-

Never before had she used the language, but she had seen it many times over her life and knew what the message said. She felt the large amount of ice she was encased in begin to rise towards the surface as it had done many times in the past. This time however was more urgent. The speed was far faster than normal and she felt a hideous grating on the surface of the ice. The object sank past the ice and she felt another death occur around her.

Of course, she didn't care for the dead man at all.

She had a Heart of Ice.


	22. Chapter 4: Part 1- The Winstrate Family

_**A/N: **I apologise for this coming out today instead of yesterday. I had to re-write this part three times, the first from not being satisfied with it and the second from file loss. When I finally did try to upload it 's servers were down, so that is why this is so late coming out. Disclaimer- I do not own Pokémon in any way. That right belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak. I do however own Eris and anyone else who does not appear in the games._

* * *

Eris left the solar powered tower, his new Dynamo Badge glimmering on his wrist, and turned north at the crossroads, retrieving the components of his bike from his coat and backpack. He consulted the map on his PokéNav while he waited for the tires to inflate, seeing that Route 111 mercifully had a small grassy portion before it turned to burning sand that was infamous for its sandstorms that could last for days, making travel a near impossibility.

Fortunately, the engineers that ran rampant across the Hoenn region had visited the route, deciding to create a tunnel that was protected from the storms. Funded by the Winstrate family, prolific battlers and share-holders in various corporations across the world, the tunnel was finished in months. Of course, the Winstrates needed a way to recoup the money they spent on the construction and imposed a toll on anyone who used the tunnel.

There was another way to get through the tunnel. The family had a battle arena installed near to the tunnel and the equivalent of an army of Pokémon at their command. Any Trainer who passed through had the option of fighting the four of them who were present at the time one after another. If they managed to beat all four of them in succession they were allowed to use the tunnel freely as much as they liked. Not many people took that option, but it was exactly what Eris wanted to do.

The entrance to the tunnel was a low, squat building; yellow with a purple shutter door. A few yards off to the left of the house was the large circular battle arena, each of its quadrants representing one of the four main habitats of Hoenn. The northwest was mountainous, tall rocks spearing up out of the floor, caverns running through the centre of them. Northeast held a tangle of trees, a humidifier generating a more natural, jungle-like climate. Opposite this false jungle was an almost empty plain, though about a third of it was covered in long grass. Finally, the south-eastern quarter was filled with water, small islands dotted around its surface.

Extending out the back of the house was the tunnel, a behemoth of glass and blue metal, carving a path through the harsh desert; the powerful sands on the right hand side where people could observe the desert dwelling Pokémon without risking themselves, the steep slope on its left marking the very base of Mt. Chimney.

Having passed through no border control outpost and not seeing one nearby Eris reasoned that they must have set it up within the tunnel itself. Eris dismantled his bike and stepped up to the door, rapping lightly on the purple slats.

"The toll is 500 Pokédollars" a woman's voice called through the slats in the door. Her tone was firm and demanding, letting the listener know that attempting to bargain would be pointless.

"I wish to battle the Winstrate family" Eris said in reply.

"Interesting" the woman murmured before smacking on the doors inside.

"Victor! Get out here" she screeched.

The door opened soon afterwards, a stocky man wearing a green down jacket emerged. His face was heavily tanned, thick black stubble covering his chin. Atop his head was a militaristic buzz cut.

"How many badges do you have?"

"Three" Eris replied.

Victor nodded and walked over to the centre of the battle arena, a smaller circle located there rising up. Victor tapped a few buttons on the pillar and a thin rectangle retracted back into the ground, rising up a second later with two Pokéballs held in it.

"I am Victor. Today I am master of the plains. I may be the weakest of the Winstrate family, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be easy to beat. Come at me with all you've got!"

He threw one of his Pokéballs out into the long grass, leaving Eris unsure as to what Pokémon he'd sent out. Nonetheless, Bolt soon joined whatever it was grass. The grass was so tall that only the tip of his mane stuck out above it. It was clear what his opponent was when it flew out of the grass.

_Tailow- The Tiny Swallow Pokémon. Tailow is a highly gutsy Pokémon, staring down even the toughest of foes. It never flees from a battle, no matter how strong the opponent is. It will only run away in order to fight on a more level field, either for it or for its opponent. They are well documented attacking Skarmory without fear. Though it will always lose these battles it will return later as a Swellow to fight again, as long as it isn't eaten. The only food Tailow will eat are Wurmple that they find on the forest floor, but sometimes they are scarce and it cries noisily. It is capable of flying upwards of 180 miles every day, often during its migration to find a warmer climate._

The creature itself was about three feet in length with dark blue feathers covering the outside of its body. Its tail was split into two distinct feathers, the gap between them forming the lower half of an elongated hexagon. Its underbelly was covered in white feathers, as were the undersides of its wings. At the top of its chest was a V shaped set of carmine feathers that went up to its beak and continued slightly afterwards, cutting another V into the blue that framed its head.

Its beak was thin, but went across the entirety of its face, peaking in the centre and topped off at either side by its large eyes, each the sector of a circle with a greyish-brown iris. Clutched in one of its talons was a small blue berry in the shape of an oblate spheroid.

As Eris watched it flap around the quadrant, noticeably never leaving the boundaries, he was glad he disabled the gender recognition feature for Trainer's Pokémon since the information was superfluous. The Tailow landed again in the centre of the scrubland, Bolt emerging from the thick grass to face it.

"Bolt, it won't flee. Spark it."

Victor called out from his position in the quadrant "Use Growl."

The bird chirped at Bolt, puffing out its chest. Eris was sure it was meant to be menacing but the vocal cords of the small Pokémon simply weren't capable of sounding that way. Before it could react Bolt had pounced, supercharging his legs with the electricity he had built up and electrifying the bird and causing it to collapse to the ground.

"You did you best Tailow. You can rest" Victor called as he retrieved his Pokémon, replacing it on the battle field with a Zigzagoon, another berry attached to a string that was tied around its neck.

"Same again Bolt" Eris said calmly, knowing that Bolt would have little difficulty in beating this entire family if all their Pokémon were this weak. Bolt complied, reaching the same conclusion as Eris and revelling in all the damage he could do, knocking out the racoon with another high voltage attack.

"Well, I didn't expect to be beaten that easily. Wait here" Victor said after recalling his Zigzagoon. He jogged back over to the house, squeezing past someone paying the toll. Soon afterwards a woman who Eris assumed was his wife emerged. She was wearing an ultramarine blouse and hadn't had time to remove her baby blue apron, stained with what looked like cake mix. Her eyes were soft in the way that only a mother's can be and were framed by curtains of redwood coloured hair.

She walked over to Eris, but stood inside the jungle quadrant this time. She took only one Pokéball out of her section of the pillar before addressing him.

"I'm Victoria. You must have been strong to defeat my husband, but as master of the jungle today, I'm not going to be as easy. Let's go Roselia."

The Pokémon that emerged from her Pokéball was highly humanoid, looking like a female child. It was about four and a half feet tall, its thin pale green legs twisting up into its body that was covered by a darker green leaf-like dress, a yellow strip present down the centre, with shoulder coverings much like pauldrons. Its face had a distinct W shape and was the same pale green as its legs and its eyes were closed, giving it a look of permanent serenity. The rest of its head was dark green like the dress and had three large thorns protruding from it, one each from the temples and crown.

At first it seemed that it was holding the heads of a blue and red rose, but the Pokédex entry told him otherwise.

_Roselia- The Thorn Pokémon. Roselia will first force its opponent to let down their guard by releasing a beautiful aroma, forcing it to feel highly serene and complacent. It will then proceed to launch poisonous thorns at the creature from its two rose heads, which are part of its anatomy. When sleeping it will bury its body in the ground, leaving only the top of its head and the roses visible, which can lead people to attempt to pick them and be poisoned. This behaviour has led medical centres to monitor the locations of Roselia in order to quickly retrieve anyone who may be poisoned. The brightness of its flowers is dependent on the acidity of the soil it sleeps in; the higher the pH, the brighter the flower._

"Bolt, don't let the aroma distract you" Eris called out to his Pokémon, but he needn't have bothered. Due to his more developed sense of smell he was able to detect the hostile undertones of the scent and he was now snarling at the petite humanoid Pokémon. Eris, on the other hand, could only smell an intensely pleasing scent, but had been trained to ignore distracting stimuli.

He realised that Bolt's anger would lead to him not following orders, so he simply allowed the Pokémon to take out his anger on the creature. It had disappeared into the myriad of hues and shadows between the trees, but the lack of additional scents within the jungle led to Bolt easily tracking down the Roselia, Eris struggling to keep up with his blistering speed.

The conventional person would have had great difficulty in locating the Pokémon within the thick plants that littered the base of the trees, but Eris was no conventional person and noticed it straight away, attempting to blend into a group of similarly coloured red flowers, but its blue rose was still visible between the other leaves.

Bolt pounced on the Roselia rapidly, smacking it out of its hiding place. As it flew through the air it launched two small barbed stings from its red rose, stabbing Bolt in the right foreleg with both of them. He quickly ripped them out to lessen the damage they would inflict, pulling out tiny chunks of flesh as he did so with rivulets of crimson staining the yellow fur surrounding his foot.

He threw himself at his opponent a second time, fear flickering across the normally serene face. Eris noticed that clasped within the blue rose was another one of the blue berries, and it barely had time to crumple the rose and crush the berry, absorbing the presumably healing properties before Bolt crashed into it again.

Unfortunately, the additions that the berry would have added to its natural regenerative properties hadn't had the time to fully kick in and it faltered before collapsing in the vegetation.

Victoria had just managed to arrive at the site of the battle, having been relaying orders to her Pokémon through a series of speakers that Eris noticed were scattered around the jungle. He reasoned that there must also have been cameras that allowed her to see the action.

"Ooh you are strong. Return to the centre and I'll send Vivi out."

Eris did as instructed, leaving the overbearing shadows of the trees for the late afternoon sunlight. He looked back to the house and saw Victoria vanishing through the door, a young girl with the same hair colour in the same style emerging. She was wearing a flowing cornsilk sundress with a blue bow tied at her neck. She walked along the edge of the jungle before stepping onto on the islands in the water, pulling three Pokéballs out of the pillar.

"Hiya, I'm Vivi. Mummy may be stronger than Daddy, but I'm even stronger than Mummy. I'm the master of the water. If you can manage to beat me you'll have to face Grandma, and she's almost as strong as my big brother. I don't think you're going to get there though. Let's go Marill."

She released a spherical mouse-like Pokémon into the water, roughly three feet in diameter. Its lower third was white while the rest was a oceanic blue. The inside of its large ears were a pale red and they twitched with every sound. The tail was black thin, spiky affair, though another sphere, this one half a foot wide, was attached to the end of it. It was to this second sphere the creature clung, bobbing in the generated waves.

_Marill- The Aqua Mouse Pokémon. The sphere at the end of Marill's tail is filled with oil, meaning that it will always float on top of water. However, the tail portion is extendable, allowing it to dive beneath the water to feed on aquatic plants. This is the method for when it is in open water. When diving into a river it will attach its tail to a tree in order to not be swept away by the current. When it needs to swim beneath the surface of the water it can release the oil from its tail. Analysis of this oil has shown it to be from entirely natural sources. The body is covered in water-repellent fur that allows it to swim quickly, ignoring much of the water resistance._

"Electrify the water" Eris said calmly stated as Bolt jumped from islet to islet, closing the gap between himself and the Marill. He jumped from one of the small beaches and landed on top of the mouse Pokémon, shocking it through his foot, before powering off and touching down on another one of the islands.

"Unlucky Marill. Numel, give it a try."

The camel Pokémon landed one of the islands closer to Eris. Due to his proximity he noticed that the heat was rather powerful, meaning that it couldn't have been too old, which also meant that it wouldn't have learnt how to use any Ground type moves yet.

"Knock it into the water" Eris instructed.

"Surely it'll smack me with a Ground type move" Bolt growled as he crouched defensively.

"It's not old enough. You're going to have to trust me. We both know what's at stake and no matter how much you or I hate each other I'm not going to send you to your death."

Bolt couldn't argue with the logic, though his survival instinct was screaming at him, and he realised that Eris knew this, so he charged the camel, sending its molten bulk sliding across the rock it was stood on.

"Use Ember Numel" Vivi cried from the water's edge.

It opened its mouth and breathed a small stream of fire at Bolt, singing his fur and leaving a slight stinging pain on his flank. Shaking off the pain he rushed the camel for a second time, knocking the hind legs of it into the water. Unfortunately the rock simply dropped off into water and the weight of the Numel's hindquarters dragged the rest of its body into the liquid. Vivi quickly recalled the Pokémon to save it from drowning, sending out a peach coloured Pokémon out onto another island.

The peach skin formed an overcoat to cover green skin underneath, this second skin being noticeable in spots through the overcoat. It was domed and flared out at the top and bottom, the total height at the tip of the flaring being a few inches short of three feet. It looked constantly disgruntled and unimpressed with the world around it, leaving Eris to suspect that its voice would be rather gruff despite its stature.

_Shroomish- The Mushroom Pokémon. Shroomish prefer to live in damp soils, hiding under rotting leaves that it can consume as food through the top of its head. It will remain perfectly still as this process occurs; the slightest interruption activates its defense mechanism. It will immediately stop its feeding and release highly toxic spores through the various holes in its outer skin. The body beneath this skin is very porous, allowing it to consume water from its soil easily. Extensive research conducted into the toxicity of the spores has revealed that they are more like poisonous Pokémon venom than a traditional plant poison, allowing people to receive anti-venom to treat infection. However, the rate of infection can be very rapid, dependant on how many spores came into contact with the body, and targets vital parts of the anatomy, mutating wildly within each individual host to maximise damage. Using such a dangerous Pokémon is often a sign of great skill._

"You're going to have to beat this one down" Eris called out.

"That's what I do best" Bolt grinned, flashing his teeth at the mushroom who simply grimaced back.

Bolt hopped across the islands and was about to charge headlong at the Shroomish when Vivi called out.

"Use Stun Spore. Don't let him get near!"

This order resulted in the Pokémon shaking its body vigorously, yellow powder flying out of the holes in its overcoat. They covered the island it stood on in a yellow haze as they drifted in the air, leaving Bolt no access to the island.

"Use Quick Attack. Disperse the spores."

Bolt picked up speed until he was nothing more than a blur, somehow managing to run along the surface of the water itself. He whipped around the island, the force of his movement displacing so much air that all the spores were battered away, leaving the grumpy Pokémon with nowhere to hide. Bolt smashed into it from the back, sending it flying over towards Vivi, the landing knocking it unconscious if the attack didn't.

"Well that's not fair. Doesn't matter though. You'll never beat Grandma" the young girl taunted as she ran back to the house. She was soon replaced by an old woman in a skirt of cherry blossom pink and a top coloured like a pink carnation. Her grey hair was sensibly done up in a bun and she walked with purpose to the mountain side of the central pillar, taking only one Pokéball from it.

"I am Vicky, head of the Winstrate family and master of the mountains. When a person knocks on that door and says they wish to fight I listen carefully. I can tell by the conviction in their voice how far they'll go. Let me see if I was right about you. Meditite, let us do battle!"

The Pokémon she sent out was roughly the size of a thirteen year old female at four feet ten inches. The head was shaped like an onion with the face deeper set than the rest of the head, containing two large eyes and a pink oval on both cheeks and swirled ears on either side. Its lower body was blue apart from its crotch, which was white in the semblance of underwear, and its wrists which had the same white covering. Its three fingered hands were clawed and its flat white feet were split into only two toes.

_Meditite- The Meditate Pokémon. Meditite spends years mentally and physically preparing itself deep within mountainous regions. It can spend many days simply meditating to heighten its awareness of the world and its place within it, leading to an increase in an inner power. Some schools of martial arts put an emphasis on its practitioners learning how to harness this inner energy themselves. Meditite often survive on nothing more than a berry a day. However, it will often lose concentration even during the late stages of its training. Trainers often join a Meditite in its training methods in hopes of making themselves stronger as well as helping Meditite to complete its training and evolve._

"Through the simple action of daily meditation my Meditite and I have learnt to connect on a psychic level" Vicky said, demonstrating as her face hardened with a look of deep concentration, her Pokémon mimicking it before settling down into a yoga pose.

"It's meditating" Eris whispered to himself in horror "Bolt, we need to finish this quickly!"

"On it" Bolt snarled as he pounced at the smaller Pokémon, only to be swatted away by an invisible wall that had sprung up in front of it. As Bolt was shaking off the impact from colliding with the wall he felt himself being lifted into the air. The Meditite's eyes had opened and glowed with a purple sheen as they focused their energy on Bolt. A flick sent him crashing into the side of the one of the mountains.

"Retreat into the caverns Bolt. We can't attack this one head on."

Bolt did as instructed, having come to the same conclusion as Eris. The boy sometimes thought that Bolt had been raised the same way he had. Either that or he was a Pokémon very used to analysing a situation quickly and realising the best course of action. He'd have to ask about it when they were on friendly enough terms that Eris could send him out domestically.

Having fled into one of the many caverns underneath and around this section of the battle arena Bolt began licking his wounds where no one could see him. Meanwhile, on the surface, Vicky had her Meditite rapidly run up the side of one of the spires of rock and sit atop it, meditating until their opponent re-emerged. Eris, realising the danger he was putting Bolt in, ran into the caves himself. Soon afterwards the Manectric came out of one of the entrances and stood stock still, his Trainer leaning against the stone the ringed the entrance.

The Meditite opened its eyes again and launched itself upwards from its perch, rising higher into the sky before it straightened one leg and angled itself towards Bolt, pushing downwards with its psychic power. It rocketed towards Bolt, who simply stared at the creature as it descended upon him like a harbinger of destruction. At the last moment, just before the outstretched foot touched the first hairs of his mane, he dodged sideways, leaving the Meditite stunned as its target vanished and it was left hurtling towards solid rock.

It was so stunned that it couldn't negate its course with its psychic ability and smashed into the rock with all the force it would have preferably smashed into Bolt with. After the dust and shrapnel had settled it was clear that it had been knocked out by the impact, the crater itself being a good two feet deep.

Vicky recalled her Pokémon and beckoned Eris to follow her into the house. Inside was a long thin corridor that had eight doors in it, four on each side, and a large opening at the back that led into the tunnel.

"As a reward for beating all four of us I present to you this pass" she said as she held out a large, laminated green card that bore the words 'Winstrate Victor'.

"That pass will let you use this tunnel anytime you like, and it'll get you past those pesky border guards stationed in there. Keep travelling. I believe you're going to go far. Don't let me down."

"Thank you madam" Eris said as she walked down the corridor and turned into one of the doors.

"No need to thank me, thank your Pokémon."

She closed the door behind her and Eris passed by it into the tunnel, the ferocity of the desert soon obvious as the metal side gave away to sheer glass that was being continuously battered by sand. He'd seen sandstorms before, but they had never been this powerful. This one seemed almost otherworldly, controlled if you will. He was distracted from his marvelling by an insistent buzzing coming from within his pocket. He pulled out his PokéNav and saw that the small oval on the front of it was insistently flashing red.

He flipped it open and put it to his ear.

"I'm assuming that red means this isn't a social call."

"You'd be quite right Eris. Where are you?" the voice of Charlie Stone asked him.

"Route 111, in the tunnel. Have you had anyone check out this sand yet? Because strangely it never seems to go past the Winstrate house."

"Given your location I'll get someone right on it. You're PokéNav has sensors within it, sensors that can pick up various forms of energy. Yours has been modified by the Alpha Server; it's detecting energies we believe to be associated with Project Royal."

"So you think that maybe this sand has something to do with Project Royal?" Eris asked, now inquisitive.

"It's very likely. One of the other members of the team has recently made a breakthrough with some translations referring to the King of Rock. Apparently the being can control rock particles and is known to be found inside of ancient ruins. There are some ruins in that desert that are banned because of the sheer amount of people who've died in them."

"Let me get this straight. This King of Rock is found in some ancient ruins that you think are in that desert and it might be controlling the sand?"

"Exactly" Charlie said.

"And you need me to get in there to find this thing for whatever the point of the project is?" Eris finalised.

"Indeed. The translation also revealed that each King had a test that one must face, but we don't know them yet. I'll send you details when they've translated more of the tablets they've found."

"Thank you sir" Eris said, and flicked the device closed. He may not be able to go into the desert yet, but he could wonder about what was really hiding in there.

* * *

_**A/N: **Rate, review, enjoy. Next part comes out Friday (hopefully) as Eris heads up to Fallarbor Town and beyond. Also, there is a poll up on my profile regarding the fourth Interlude._


	23. Chapter 4: Part 2- Volcanoes

_**A/N: **Two days late is appalling, even by my standards. Still, late is better than never I suppose. Longer part this time with another dream sequence. Rate, review, enjoy. Disclaimer- I do not own Pokémon in any way. That right belongs to Nintendo and Gamefreak. I do however own Eris and anyone else who does not appear in the games._

* * *

The tunnel stretched on for quite some distance, the sand pounding against the east wall drowning out most of the noise. He hadn't seen anyone approach from the other end since he had started, and he soon noticed why. The border checkpoint had been erected up ahead, but a large amount of rock blocked any progress beyond.

"I apologise for the inconvenience sir, but the way ahead is blocked. There is another path around if you wish to take it" one of the soldiers manning the gate called to him as he approached.

"What path would that be?"

Now the other soldier spoke "The Fiery Path if you want to head up to Fallarbor Town. Cuts right through the heart of Mt. Chimney. Only path you can take really. I'm afraid that the path to Lavaridge is closed currently. Maintenance works up on the mountain have stopped all traffic to and from the village."

"I guess I'll have to take it then. Fallarbor have something of value. No point in waiting here for that rock to shift" Eris replied.

"I'll just to check your credentials then" the first soldier said as he produced a computer tablet with a scanner attached to it.

Eris handed him the card given to him by Vicky, but was surprised when the man looked at him expectantly for more.

"I was informed that that card would give me easy passage" Eris said.

The other soldier, now sat at a desk doing a crossword, laughed.

"It does. With that you don't need to answer a load of questions. We still need your Trainer card to verify your identity. I am peculiar and altogether indecent."

"What?" Eris questioned, confused at the final sentence.

"Sorry. I am peculiar and altogether indecent. Eight letters" he waved the newspaper at Eris "Any ideas?"

"None" Eris said as he handed his Trainer card to the soldier with the scanner "Good luck with that though."

The first soldier handed him his Trainer card back and directed him towards the small exit from the tunnel, mostly hidden by the landslide. The exit led through the rock, gently sloping upwards until it emerged onto a plateau. Directly in front of him was a series of steps that led to a cable car station. The cars themselves weren't moving but took passengers up to the top of the mountain when they were in motion.

Two men sat in front of the entrance wearing hi-vis jackets. Attached to their belts were extendable batons and stun guns, along with spray canisters. One spoke into the radio clipped to his shoulder while the other stood up upon seeing Eris.

"Mountain's closed mate. Maintenance works going on up at the top."

"I know. I'm headed up to Fallarbor Town through Fiery Path" Eris called across, noticing the presumed entrance to the path cut into the side of the mountain and starting to walk towards it.

"A word to the wise, take the left fork mate. Right hand fork's been giving a load of people trouble lately."

Eris nodded his thanks and entered the opening, the temperature inside rapidly rising and causing him to start sweating. The path quickly split into two and he followed the leftwards curve. The temperature kept rising, as did the light level, forcing him to remove his trench-coat and fasten it to his backpack. The removal of it did little to relieve the heat, but at least the material his t-shirt and trousers were constructed of was highly breathable.

He turned another corner and felt something digging into his ankle; his face fell. It was a tripwire. A shuddering boom filled the cavern as the ceiling behind him caved in, sealing the path. Lifting his other foot over the wire he broke into a run, emerging from the passage into a wide cavern with a lava filled base. A narrow ledge ran around the entirety of the cavern, as well as a bridge of the same width that spanned the lava.

In the lava was a small rocky island, on which lay a lone Machop repeatedly lifting a large pile of rocks. Within the lava swam Numel alongside turtle Pokémon, only the top of their shells and their outstretched necks visible. Across them crawled large slugs, seemingly composed of the magma they emerged from. Around the roof of the cavern floated purple spheres with bumps across their surface and a skull and crossbones symbol below their mouths. They were too far away to properly discern the size, but Eris guessed they had to be about five feet in diameter.

Across the roof of the cavern crawled thick purple ooze, thin strings dripping off the bodies into the lava far below them. Their size was never definite, the forms undulating as they moved, eating away at the roof and dripping slime.

He felt the floor rumble slightly and looked back, seeing fractures beginning to develop on the walls and small rocks starting to fall out of the roof of the cavern. At the current rate the cracks were moving he wouldn't make it if he went around the edge. Even as he started to move towards the central bridge a rock crashed down behind him, spurring him on faster.

The narrow surface was slick in places from the ooze dropped from the creatures on the ceiling, but Eris managed to skip over them all and keep his balance at the same time. It was amazing what being faced with certain death could do to a person.

"_It's always the volcanoes isn't it?"_

"Not now" Eris growled as he focused on not falling off the rocky bridge.

"_Watch for the Slugma."_

"What?" Eris asked the voice as he stumbled to a stop, narrowly avoiding a collision with one of the lava slugs that crawled across the bridge in front of him.

"_Keep moving you idiot boy!"_

Eris obeyed, just as the ceiling above started to cave onto the bridge. Purple spheres, now punctured and deflated, flopped on top of him and the purple ooze started to splatter down on the bridge, covering the already treacherous crossing with a slippery coating. He felt the rock under his back foot start to shift and he picked up his speed, narrowly avoiding a deadly tumble.

One particularly large rock disconnected from the ceiling of the cavern and smashed into the lava, sending up a large spout of the molten liquid. A few droplets nicked his legs as he ran; he barely avoiding screaming in pain as the searing heat came into contact with his flesh. He grit his teeth and ran on through the burning, now starting to breathe hard in the steadily shrinking claustrophobic.

Three-quarters of the way across the bridge the cracks reached the other side of the cavern, causing a few rocks to dislodge and cover the only exit. Now mentally and physically racing for survival he tried to formulate a plan, but came up blank.

"_Must I do everything for you fool?! Belt, third ball from the left; right-side breast pocket; left-side inner breast pocket. Quickly!"_

Eris did as the voice told him to, realising what the plan was. Hands flying, feet pounding, heavily breathing, he pulled out his TM case from inside the coat and his PokéNav from its new pocket on the outside. Quickly rifling through the case he pulled out the glossy burgundy disc and quickly slotted it into the drive on the PokéNav.

He was then forced to drop the case into the pocket of his trousers while he pulled the third ball from the left off of his belt. Arnold's ball to be exact. He held the PokéNav in his teeth and released Arnold onto his free arm, the added weight serving to further slow him down.

"What's up Eris? And why is it so hot?" Arnold inquired as Eris cradled him.

Eris tore the PokéNav from between his teeth and shoved it in front of Arnold's face.

"No time. Just learn" he panted as he watched the boulder covered exit almost upon them and the bridge beneath his feet shifting again, the booms of rocks still crashing down ringing in his ears.

The little Pokémon studiously stared at the screen, noting the hellish conditions and the urgency in its Trainer's voice. In the meantime Eris focused all his energy on carrying the two of them to the covered exit, but his eyes widened when he saw a massive shadow fall over them. Just a few more seconds, ten at most, and they would have made it out if Arnold had managed to learn Rock Smash.

Now they were going to be crushed to death, though that was a preferable death to falling in the lava below, so he kept running, head down in defeat. He suddenly felt the weight on his arm shift to his shoulder and then across his neck onto his head. The added weight started to put immense strain on his neck muscles but he couldn't lift his head for fear of dropping Arnold into a fiery demise. The shadow was completely covering them now, but even as Eris felt the weight of it start to press down on him it was gone. Out of the corners of his eyes he noticed the two halves of it crashing down either side of the bridge.

He quickly grabbed Arnold with his free hand and hurled him forwards with all the strength he had. Raising his head he watched as the little Pokémon soared through the air, its head glowing, until it ploughed through the rocks, smashing them with ease. If he had any breath left to spare he would have cried out in elation; as it was he was reduced to exhaling slightly heavier on his next breath, as though he was attempting to say something but had neither the time nor ability to actually do so.

Running through the hole that Arnold had created and returning him to his ball Eris couldn't stop in case the rest of this tunnel decided to cave as well. Instead he replaced Arnold with Aurelia and a vague waved hand gesture to find a pathway out. The cream and golden blur shot off, significantly slowed from the curves but still far faster than Eris.

She returned a few moments later, the clacking of her claws barely audible over the crashing rocks that were now heavily displacing air and dust from the cavern into the tunnel. Aurelia took off again, slower this time so that Eris could follow. The path curved through the mountain, looping back on itself at one point, until it joined back up with another path the came from the right and led towards a lit exit.

He could no longer hear the crashes of rocks on rocks and assumed that the rest of the structure was holding. He slowed down to a walk now that he was sure it was safe to do so, recalling Aurelia as well. He put his trench-coat back on and staggered towards the exit, drained of energy and rapidly losing adrenaline from his system.

He somehow managed to reach the exit and emerge from the other side of the mountain into a small field protected from the ash and sand. The sun was setting as he dropped his bag on the ground and collapsed after it, falling into a deep sleep.

XXXXXX

Drunken shouts echoed around the room, coming from burly, tattooed men as they sloshed their tankards. Over in one corner an altercation started to occur during a game of cards. One of the men playing stood, slamming his knife down into the wooden surface of the table.

"You dirty cheating fucker!"

In response the other four men around the table stood, each more muscled than the last. Two of them drew knives of their own, one pulled a pistol out of the waistband of his trousers; the final man simply spread his legs slightly to centre his balance and raised his fists.

The man whose knife was embedded in the table removed it and sat back down, pushing some more of his cash into the pot in the middle. The gun wielder smiled a crooked smile and gestured for the other men to sit down, dealing a new hand to the four of them.

In another corner men vomited onto the floor repeatedly. One man would leave to obtain another drink and another would replace him, at least until they started passing out in the pile of regurgitated matter. The third corner of the establishment, if it could even be called that, played host to the slightly more sober men, those more likely to have an incentive to brawl.

As it turned out, that's exactly what they did in response to the weapons being drawn at the card table. The men were too drunk to realise that the weapons weren't being drawn against them and so drew their own weapons, or used impromptu ones. The first casualty came from beaten over the head with five barstools.

Amid the sounds of glass smashing, wood breaking, metal bending, fists hitting, skulls cracking, knives slashing and guns firing sat the occupants of the fourth corner. Alpha and Omega were at the head of the table, facing the chaos, while Coral sat absorbing it. One foolish man swung his filled tankard at Coral's head. It broke, causing no visible damage. In return Coral stood up, dwarfing the man and picked his own tankard up. He downed it in one gulp and threw it to one side before dragging the man back into the melee that had consumed the seedy pub.

"While Coral deals with that rude interruption, we can continue with the planning phase" Alpha said, though it might have been Omega.

To their immediate left Sidewinder sat with a thick cigar between his teeth. Next to him was a young woman, her black hair fashioned into a finger wave. Her hazel eyes were covered with thick framed square glasses and she wore a specially cut suit that caused her to look both nerdy and professional. Across from her sat a black woman who had dyed her hair pure white. Her dark brown eyes surveyed the bar while she spun a small pistol around her finger.

She wore a floor length iridescent green dress and had her hair tied in a French braid. Just as the pistol was completing another revolution a hand came from her left and snatched it off of her by the barrel.

"Oh, that was yours? I'm so sorry, I didn't realise" she said, smiling at the person sitting next to her.

"Shut it Magpie" Eris growled. At this point in time he was eleven, having been in full training for five years. Everyone around the table respected him and knew what he was capable of, three of them having worked with him before in Operation Psychic Breaker that resulted in Dr. Clarke working for them for two years now.

The operation they were planning in this horror of a pub was essentially phase two of the grand plan.

Alpha (or Omega) started to speak again.

"Coral is going to be our leading muscle. He'll have to battle his way through the ten zones until he reaches the top. That's the easy part. Following his success he'll be allowed to choose one Pokémon from the vault. As soon as the way is opened Omega will need to use some explosives to keep the doors open, because they'll want to shut them pretty quickly once we start the proper operation."

"How will I get there?" Omega asked his brother.

"Sidewinder will fly you in. You'll have to rappel into the shaft and line it with some of my shaped charges at specific points to stop the doors closing whilst also maintaining the structural integrity of the metal."

"What of the anti-air defences?" Sidewinder chimed "Won't they activate the moment the chopper is in range?"

Alpha rifled around in his bag and pulled out a dossier, throwing into the centre of the table. Sidewinder flipped it open to reveal a balding blonde man with the first signs of wrinkles appearing around his green eyes.

"Darryl Yang, fifty. Started out as an accountant, joined the armed forces as an airman at twenty-two. Posted on the eastern front during the Johto-Invader War mostly in a scouting role for three years. His plane came under heavy fire from both Johto and Invader air attack forces, pushing him back to his base. Johto and Invader forces began to attack the base, believing it to be a third hostile party. He showed an incredible aptitude for co-ordinating air defences after half the base, along with its commanders, was destroyed in a botched bombing run."

"So now, without a war to fight he's gone private" the young woman in the suit said "And he's most likely pissed off that everything is becoming more and more automated."

"Exactly Flea. That, of course, plays right into our hands. Darryl, now owner of a private military corporation specialising in defences, has been under the employ of Mt. Battle for the past five years. Advancements in AI targeting led to his company being used less and less, since they didn't invest early. This in turn has led Darryl to become bitter and an alcoholic. Even worse for Darryl is that he likes to keep everything in order. He has a routine. And in five minutes he's going to walk through that door with codes to disable the anti-air defences at Mt. Battle."

"If she's taking out the turrets why can't she hold the vault open?" Omega asked. It was a question that they were all thinking.

"The vault is voice controlled and on a separate system to the turrets. We can't get the voice print in time, so we can only negate the turrets."

"Ooh I get to do something at other than being looked at like a slab of meat" Magpie said, leaning back in her seat and spinning the same pistol as earlier around on her finger, leading Eris to snatch it back for the second time.

"You know the safety's off right?" she asked sweetly.

"Having the safety on is something only a fool would do around here. Then again, sometimes I think we need to turn your safety on. 'It looked pretty' is not a viable excuse to steal a car."

"I didn't steal many" she replied, twirling a loose bit of her hair with her finger.

"You stole _the entire parking lot_" Eris said scathingly "I'm amazed you didn't try to take the concrete."

She reached into the bag at her feet and pulled out a piece of paper, unfolding it to show the deed for that area. Eris sighed, defeated, and she put it away again.

"You two can banter when you're in the vault. For now, shut it. Darryl will spend between twenty and thirty minutes in here, drinking as much as he can during that time. The man can put a lot away in that space of time, but he can't handle it too well. On his way out you'll need to grab the codes Magpie. He keeps them in his right inner pocket. Get them and get out. The rest of us will already be in position. You're going to need to get the codes to Flea within ten minutes."

Flea spoke up "And where will I be?"

"At the base of Mt. Battle. The data core is located underneath the mountain. So long as you can get a computer you can hack the data core and change some allowances, such as who can activate the turrets and what codes they need. Obviously you need the current access codes to get in, but the rest should be a breeze."

At this point Coral walked out of the brawl unscathed, a fresh drink in his hand. He sat back down and drank deeply from it.

"What part are we up to?" he asked.

"The part where you begin the battles" Alpha replied.

"Finally some real action" he said, downing the rest of the beer and filling the glass with notes, before walking towards the door. The brawl noticeably stopped and parted for him as he walked through it, but it quickly picked back up again after he threw the glass on the ground, shattering it and scattering the money.

"It should take roughly two hours for him to beat the entirety of the mountain. I will spend those hours finalising the placement points for the explosives, Omega shall spend them remembering the placement points. Eris, Sidewinder and Magpie you'll need to spend them acquiring a chopper with enough storage space for all the Pokéballs. That vault has one Pokéball for every fully evolved Pokémon we know of, with random genders. That's 193 Pokéballs."

"That's far more than any chopper we could procure would be able to carry" Sidewinder noted.

"That's why we've compiled a list of the most important ones. Forty-five to be exact. Eris, Magpie, memorise this list" he produced a second dossier from his bag "The Pokéballs in the vault will all have name tags. You are going to be rappelling in from the helicopter, as will Omega. Once you've collected all the Pokéballs Sidewinder will draw you back up and collect Coral from the top of the mountain. I shall be co-ordinating from the base with Flea, who will have to create a backdoor before they change the access codes when they realise they can't get in. We shall leave in the evacuation confusion. Sidewinder, Eris, start searching for the chopper now. Magpie you'll need to wait until Darryl starts to leave. Flea and I shall also go integrate ourselves in the wait area and Flea can start wiping security tapes. Omega, go retrieve the explosives from my lab and I'll send you updates when you've taken off."

Omega was the first to leave. No one saw him since they were all still brawling. Swiftly afterwards, Alpha and Flea followed him out. The next moment saw Magpie walk over to the bar, the brawl stopping as the men admired her figure and restarting after they had finished admiring her ass as she walked back to the table with Darryl in tow.

As she walked through the throng of men, Sidewinder and Eris slipped out the door, turned left out of the alley and headed towards the heliport of the small junction, Mt. Battle looming to the east. At the heliport Sidewinder produced some false documentation that said he was Andrew H. Patterson, 43, and licensed to fly sand and high-altitude choppers. His cover story was that he was taking his son out on a flying observation of desert Pokémon and needed extra bay space for the photography equipment.

A few contracts signed and an exchange of money later they had the helicopter fuelled and loaded with the false equipment. Sidewinder took off and flew a few miles out into the desert, dumping the unnecessary load when he was sure they wouldn't be found.

"Alpha, how's Coral doing?" he asked into his earpiece.

"_Aaron Wood is currently in the fourth section, battling the leader. There's been discussion about allowing him to skip a couple of sections because of his Pokémon's power."_

"How's that going to affect the timing?"

"_He's beaten disc forty and they're letting him skip to disc seventy-one. You'll need to grab Omega and Magpie now."_

Sidewinder said no more and flicked the switches in the cockpit to start the rotors. Eris sat in the cargo bay, checking the winches they'd hidden within the photography equipment were fully secure and running. He slid the bay door closed and they took off, flying further into the desert to retrieve Omega from Alpha's 'toyshop'. They found him outside, surrounded by metal, plastic and circuitry. To a regular observer it would seem that he had simply deconstructed the entirety of the workshop and strewn the contents across the sands.

In essence, he had done just that. At the same time he had also issued a challenge to his brother. None of the pieces were broken in any way, leaving Alpha to create something new from them later on.

"Get in. We need to grab Magpie" Eris said after he'd slid the door open.

Omega grabbed the shaped charges he'd been keeping close to him and loaded them into the bay, climbing in himself shortly afterwards.

"How's he doing?" Sidewinder asked. Both Eris and Omega knew he wasn't referring to them.

"_Disc ninety-five. You've got thirty minutes max at this rate."_

"Acknowledged. Magpie, get to the base of the mountain. We're going to have to pick you up from there."

They took off again, racing eastwards to the mountain. Fortunately they were in a sand-chopper, specially designed to fly through sandstorms, and they didn't have to worry about any storms slowing their progress.

"_Disc one hundred, everyone."_

"Get those turrets offline Flea" Sidewinder said as the mountain loomed closer, the stark white flak cannons spread across the surface of the rock monitoring the skies for any signatures too big to let through.

"_They are offline" _her voice said through the earpiece _"They just look active."_

None of them questioned her and Sidewinder guided the craft closer, touching down next to Magpie who climbed in without a word.

"_Vault's almost open."_

The chopper lifted off again and headed for the top of the mountain, the turrets tracking it but not firing. Soon they reached the peak and the hundredth battle disc, located within the caldera of the volcano. Next to the disc was a circular gap in the lava, leading deep into the volcano itself. As the blades sliced through the air and created a large downdraft onto the disc Coral leapt towards his final opponent and clamped his hand over the man's mouth.

The bay door was quickly slid open and Omega jumped out, a harness around his chest to stop him plummeting into the shaft. Eris loosened the winch enough that he was able to descend into the shaft and plant the shaped charges along the walls. Eris activated the winch to bring him back up when he tugged on the wire and they swapped harnesses, deep booms echoing back up the tunnel as the explosives detonated. Magpie already had her harness on and they jumped out together, Omega managing both of the winches.

The sleek silver tunnel was barely wide enough for the both of them with the backpacks they held to carry the balls but at the bottom it opened out into a large spherical chamber, racks of Pokéballs lining the walls. They felt the wires attached to their backs loosen considerably to allow them to move around the chamber. They started to grab Pokéballs off of the shelves and stuffed them into the bags, making sure their wires didn't cross.

Once they'd ensured they had all the required Pokéballs they moved back to the centre and tugged twice on the wires. They started to move back up the shaft at a slow pace, Omega not willing to risk them colliding in the tunnel at a faster speed.

"Blow the last charge" Eris said as they kept rising.

Omega obeyed, causing the charge he'd planted in the vault itself to explode and eliminate the rest of the Pokéballs, crippling Mt. Battle for the future. Unfortunately the explosion also caused the rest of the structure to start to collapse, fractures shooting up the walls. Lava started to flood in at a lower level, but the repeated fractures kept letting more in.

Both Eris and Magpie realised that at the current rate they wouldn't make it out of the tunnel before the lava spilled in and melted them. They couldn't risk speeding the winches up lest the additional acceleration tangle the wires.

"Mine can take more than yours" Eris said.

"Omega, stop Eris' winch" Magpie said into the earpiece. She kept rising above the boy before she swung across and undid her harness, landing lightly on Eris' back. The winch strained with the weight of the added person, but their combined weight was only slightly over what it was designed to take.

"Omega, get us the fuck out of here!" Eris shouted as he noticed the cracks that were leaking molten rock coming level with him.

The wire jerked sharply and they rapidly started to rise. He looked up and wished he hadn't, as he saw how the fractures were almost to the top of the shaft. Currently the backpack was hanging from his hand, but he hauled it up onto his shoulder to add a little more clearance. This proved to be a good idea as they passed the rim just as the lava started to pour in as it collapsed. Omega managed to pull them up into the chopper as Sidewinder navigated them over the solid disc so they could pick up Coral.

"_Get out of there fast Sidewinder. These computers are shit and they've almost reorganised the coding. Those turrets are going to be on your ass pretty fucking soon!"_

"The packages and Coral are loaded. We're on the way out."

"Alpha" Eris chimed.

"_What is it?" _the man said.

"No more fucking volcanoes."

XXXXXX

Eris slowly woke to a low heat burning across his face despite the early morning hour. A Numel stood close in front of him, either reasonably aged or weakened due how little heat it was emanating. It seemed to be quite tired, so Eris flicked a free Pokéball at the Pokémon.

It didn't struggle whatsoever after the ball impacted it. The moment it was fully captured he released it and sprayed a Super Potion down its throat to treat any internal damage before feeding it. He returned it before sending his two carnivorous Pokémon, Bolt and Aurelia, out to hunt for themselves. Arnold dug into the ground to devour the minerals he'd detected.

The three Pokémon didn't move too far from Eris, since he hadn't had a chance to work out a maximum safe distance. The plains steadily turned dustier as he travelled further along; only a few small hills protected it from joining the desert entirely. It turned north and it changed again, ash starting to settle on the route.

A few hours later, just before the sun started to rise, he turned westwards now seeing the Dragonfall Mountains in their full glory. As he watched he saw why Skyfire Peak was given its name; it was the lowest of the visible mountains and thus the first one the sun crested, seeming to set the sky on fire as the rays were split between the peaks and valleys.

The land in between the mountain and himself was far less beautiful than the spectacle he had witnessed. The trees that still stood were stunted and lifeless, thin branches clawing at strangled air. Harsh grey grass covered with ash filled the ground space and hardly any Pokémon were visible.

One that Eris could see was a bizarre humanoid rabbit-like creature almost three feet in height, with cream skin that had patchy red spots across it. Its large ears had swirls patterned inside of them, and its little black eyes formed the centre point of swirls on its face. It seemed mostly useless as it stumbled dizzily across the greyed dirt.

_Spinda- The Spot Panda Pokémon. The pattern of spots on every single Spinda is different, creating groups of people who attempt to spot as many varieties as they can. Despite observing over one thousand Spinda researchers are yet to find two Spinda that share a complete pattern. People have likened them to the biological variant of snowflakes. Their movements have been seen as a strange form of dancing, though this has been disputed. Scientists are not yet sure if the movements are entirely random or if they are purposefully random to avoid ranged assaults. The research is leaning more towards the former as they have not been noted to alter these random movements when predators get close, however, predators attempting to track them for too long at close range commonly suffer from disorientation. This specimen is male._

It seemed to Eris that it wouldn't be able to be controlled, so he sent his new Numel, Vulcan, out to test his abilities and hopefully cook some meat for Eris to eat.

"Burn it to death Vulcan" he said.

The Pokémon lazily opened its mouth and breathed a large swathe of fire across the Spinda. Not even its erratic movements could avoid the flames due to its width and its screams were the only thing that proved it still lived, though they swiftly died out. Eris told Vulcan to stop after a few more seconds before he climbed off his bike and stepped forwards, pulling out the knife he'd recovered in Slateport. He cut the Spinda open and observed the meat, deeming it acceptable.

He slashed off a large portion and devoured it, cutting off a second piece for Vulcan. The meat was tough and stringy to begin with, but a large amount of juice was present within it deeper down. Despite the small size of the Pokémon it possessed a large amount of meat that was highly filling. While they ate Eris took the opportunity to learn more about his latest acquisition.

"Why were you so weak earlier?" he asked the Pokémon in-between mouthfuls.

Vulcan chewed slowly and spoke in the same manner.

"My. Trainer. Abandoned. Me. Called. Me. Worth. Less."

"Why?"

"Too. Slow. They. Said. Never. Pleased. With. My. Per. For. Mance."

"Bastard evidently didn't realise how much power you've got or how much punishment you can take."

"He. Never. Spoke. To. Me. Like. You."

Eris shrugged "No one else really can. They can speak to their Pokémon but they can't understand them back. I only can because of this virus or birth defect I've got. I don't even know what it is exactly. What I do know is that I have slightly better control over Pokémon, can understand them. If any Pokémon I capture go too far away from me or faint, that's it. There's no recovery. They just die. I don't know why, but I'm sorry you had to get me as a second Trainer. Life with me is highly dangerous."

"I. Am. Glad. To. Have. You. I. Would. Rather. Die. Having. Fought. Than. Die. After. Doing. Nothing."

Eris said nothing in response, instead standing and returning Vulcan to his ball before getting back on his bike. He had to increase the wheel size to cope with the horrendous terrain, but the sheer adaptability of the bike made the task remarkably easy. Soon the ash that lay on the grass was being thrown back up into the air, revealing that the grass somehow maintained its colour.

Unsurprisingly, the route was as barren of Trainer's as it was of trees with life signs. It gave him time to reflect on the past few hours. The guards, or at least one of them, had purposefully guided him into the left tunnel. Which meant that someone wanted him dead. It wasn't a new feeling, but one he hadn't felt in a while. The man in Slateport, Igneous. It was possible that he and Team Magma saw him as a threat that needed to be removed.

The question was what they were doing with Mt. Chimney. They weren't simply removing the geothermal power source from the region. They could have done that easily enough within a few hours.

"_Stop thinking boy. You'll find out soon enough."_

"I like to have a plan that counters the plan of my enemy when I face him" Eris replied bitterly

"_It's good to know that something I taught you stuck around."_

His father's voice irritated Eris greatly, but thinking back to earlier it now intrigued him.

"Why did you help me in the volcano?"

"_You think that just because I want you dead, I want you to die?"_

"Traditionally that's exactly what people want" Eris said dryly.

"_If you die, so do I. Self-preservation always comes first boy! I may want you dead but not until you've suffered."_

Eris found he could never win an argument with his father, even after he was dead, so he continued riding in silence. Soon he reached the mountains and entered the caves that wound through them. The air inside was glorious simply thanks to the lack of ash filling it and Eris slowly dismantled his bike, drawing deep breaths from the clean air. Unfortunately the cave was rather short and he soon emerged back into choked air, though it was slightly easier to breathe now that the mountains were blocking some of the ash.

The area he had walked into was a large bowl covered on every side by a mountain of some sort. Contained within the bowl was a small town, more of a village, with little in the way of greenery, but it still managed to support a couple of trees, though they were stunted. Each of the houses, twenty by Eris' count, had a different colour of glass forming its sideways slanted roof. Even the Pokémart and Pokémon Centre were clearly defined by having their well-known colours forming their roofs.

The Pokémon Centre was his first stop, the Pokémart following while he waited for his Pokémon to recover fully. As he walked back to the Centre he overheard a concerning conversation.

"Naomi, have you seen Professor Cozmo since he left?"

"No. Normally he's back by now. He may have been caught up by a new discovery, but still, I hope he's alright. Meteor Falls isn't normally too dangerous."

Eris recovered his Pokémon, making a mental note to check Meteor Falls, actually a specific part of the Dragonfall Mountains, for this Cozmo person. First though he'd have to head through Route 114, which fared only slightly better than its precursor. Being even further from the volcano and even more shielded it had tufts of long grass sporadically scattered with the occasional healthy tree growing.

He sent out Vulcan, planning on torching the grass to scare a useable Pokémon out, but was dive-bombed by a small blue bird no more than four feet long with what seemed like clouds for wings. It had a small blue tail and two antenna-like growths protruding from atop its rounded body. Its white beak stabbed at the pair as it swooped past a second time.

Eris sent out Bolt, telling Vulcan to move back. The bird dived again, trying to surprise Bolt, but he struck it with a low voltage shock that knocked it out of the sky.

"Use a low flame Vulcan."

Just as Vulcan started to apply a small amount of heat to weaken the creature further Eris scanned it.

_Swablu- The Cotton Bird Pokémon. Swablu's wings are exceptionally light and fluffy, often being compared to clouds. Most of the time the wings are quite full, but at the height of summer it tends to moult, causing its wings to become wispy. This only has a minor negative impact on its flying capabilities however. It is not frightened by people and will often land on the heads of those who pass by, unless it is mating season, in which case they will attack people who pass close to the nest of their parents. The one thing it cannot stand is dirt and it will use its wings to methodically and meticulously clean objects. When its wings start to show signs of being dirty other Swablu will drag the dirty one to a stream and ruthlessly clean it. This specimen is female._

Eris flicked a free Pokéball at the small Pokémon that was twitching on the ground, trying and failing to sing Vulcan to sleep. Deciding to call her Nimbus he realised that he now had a full team of six Pokémon, though one of them was severely wounded.

Between Bolt's lightning attacks and Vulcan's all-consuming infernos, the rest of the Pokémon on the route didn't stand a chance and it was little trouble to climb up to the entrance to the cave system that led to Meteor Falls.

Inside all other sounds were drowned out by the thundering of the falls, their sounds reverberating in the cavern to make an almost unbearable din. The mist they threw up almost managed to remove another sense, but sight was still available to within a few feet.

He started to walk through the mist, trying to find his way to one of the lower levels, when two people barged past him, charging for the exit. Their sudden appearance and the poor visibility meant that Eris wasn't able to discern who they were. However, instead of chasing after them he rushed towards the lower level even faster.

When he got there he found a man in hiking gear with a netbook broken in half next to him lying on the ground. His shirt had been ripped open, revealing poorly developed muscles and burn marks that spelt out 'Magma'. From the small incision at the start of the first M it looked like they had planned to cut the letters into his skin as well but he'd succumbed to the torture, probably long before they'd finished burning the first letter.

Here they were simply trying to make a point. His face was heavily bruised as well and encrusted blood surrounded his nose. He'd clearly passed out from the pain, but the moment Eris touched him he shot awake, if only briefly.

"The meteorite. The volcano" he managed to choke out before he dropped back into merciful unconsciousness.

Eris rushed out of the cave, whipping out his PokéNav as he went and calling the emergency services to recover Cozmo. He then dialled a second number that was prebuilt into the device.

"_Hello and welcome to the-"_

Eris mashed the button to skip the unnecessary automated dialogue before putting the device back to his ear.

"Level One assault in progress atop Mt. Chimney. Requires Flannery and whoever leads the land armed forces."

A gruff voice soon came through the speaker as he was patched through.

"Kid, if this is a hoax it's the worst one I've ever encountered. We are in a time of war and false alarms are not to be taken lightly. Mt. Chimney is currently undergoing maintenance."

"Team Magma are the maintenance" Eris snapped back as he reassembled his bike on the move.

"And what proof, if any, do you have of that ludicrous claim?"

"Just get your ass up there. And look Eris Doohan up on your computer. The file's big enough" he finished, snapping the PokéNav shut.

He really hated army types and their policies. And he really hated volcanoes.

* * *

_**A/N: **I'm planning on getting both the Mt. Chimney segment and the fourth gym into the next part, coming out sometime in the week. Remember to vote on the poll on my profile to decide what subject Interlude 4 will cover._


	24. Chapter 4: Part 3- The Military Base

His legs powered up and down, driving the pedals and propelling himself across the uneven terrain. He sharply twisted the handlebars and threw the bike to the left, up and off an outcropping. Boy and bike soared through the air above the rocks, coming to land on a slope about twenty feet further down. This process was repeated all the way to the start of the long grass dotted at the base of the mountain range.

He focused his attention on the town in front of him, and the mountains behind. Hopefully the military would reach Mt. Chimney in time to stop, or at least delay, Team Magma. Personally, Eris was expecting delay. Hoenn's ground forces didn't seem all too competent from what he could recall of his reading. The region preferred to deal with engagements, if any, by way of naval warfare, the expansive ocean that made up most of the region being an excellent training ground.

And also, Eris wanted answers. Answers he couldn't get if Team Magma's higher ups were in custody.

He was so focused in reaching the next stage of the journey back to the volcano that he almost didn't notice the familiar thumping of a helicopter. He glanced up quickly to note the model before returning his eyes to the route. And then he braked. Were those Devon Corp. markings on the tail rotor? He looked again and saw that it was moving to make a landing in Fallarbor Town.

It was coming to pick him up.

He put his feet back on the pedals and pumped his legs like crazy, driving the pedals round faster and faster with each revolution. The buildings of the town loomed closer as the helicopter started to touch down and open its rear bay door in preparation for his arrival. As he whizzed into the town a distinctive figure stood next to the door, her black hair and white coat stark against the light grey metal making up the hull of the machine.

He stopped pedalling as he neared the helicopter, letting his momentum carry him up the ramp. The moment his back wheel was fully inside the bay the door began to close as the rotors spun up to speed, lifting them up into the air. Eris noted the precision and efficiency and went straight to the cockpit. He didn't notice the bemused expressions of the three people strapped into the seats on the walls, nor did he hear them attempt to ask questions.

He slid straight into the unoccupied co-pilot's seat, strapping himself in and donning the headset located there.

"I assume you're tuned to their radio chatter. No commercial pilot dusts off like that, so I'm assuming ex-military or a merc, which means you'd know the frequency."

The pilot grinned as he pulled the cyclic control stick back a fraction of an inch, skimming them over the top of a bird that had been too slow to react "They told me you were good kid but damn you got guts to come out and say that to my face. Shouldn't be surprised after what you said to the Colonel though. One of my buddies still in the force said he was majorly pissed after you terminated that call, at least until one of the techies nearly shat themselves reading your file. Apparently it's scary shit, even with all the redactions. After that he assembled a strike team to scout the location and report back."

"The results?" Eris questioned.

"Infil ain't happening at the top, that's for sure. First thing they noticed was that the entire place was crawling with guards. Almost got taken out by rocket fire. So they pull back, circle round to the other side and spot a landing site, but it was too small for the chopper. Some smartass gets the idea to jump out and parachute in, clear out a bit of the top and set up a landing site for a chopper nearer the top. Thing is, moment they jump Golbat swarm them, tear their chutes and lines to shreds and feast on their blood all the way to the bottom. Last I heard the Colonel's getting a field base set up at the bottom, planning to march his guys up the side of the mountain."

"Why not send in some attack choppers, buzz the top and land to mop up the survivors?"

"Trust me they tried right after the first guy went down screaming. First bird in spins it guns up and nothing comes out. Of the front at least. Bullets went pouring out of the side of the damn thing and straight into the fuselage. Churned her up something bad."

Eris contemplated the information. It would take a pretty powerful Pokémon, or a large group of them, to cope with the sheer firepower. Taking two guns mounted on either side of the aircraft, each firing up to about…

"_Two thousand rounds per minute at twenty-eight hundred feet per second. I've got to hand it to them boy, whatever they've got up there is one strong son-of-a-bitch."_

Eris knew the calculations for psychic power as well as anyone else (that is to say, not at all) and had to agree with his father's voice. He just hoped that whatever it was stayed focused on keeping the airspace clear; otherwise it could pretty easily tear all the blood from his body in an instant.

"Set us down at the base and get the hell out of here. I'll be fine from there."

The pilot laughed "Ain't you I'm worried about kid. You got to be something special to have a file that causes that sort of reaction at your age. I'm worried for what you'll do to the Colonel if he tries to keep you in line. I get the impression that you're the one who draws the lines, then crosses them for the sheer hell of it."

The helicopter had been descending the entire time the pilot had been speaking and was touching down as he said those words. Eris noticed a clean shaven man walking towards the helicopter as he unclipped the harness. He wore a tan suit, the two golden pips on each shoulder shining as brilliantly as the smooth top of his head. Located above the pips was a larger, dull grey pip with small red lines that ran across it. On the man's chest a plethora of medals and ribbons were pinned, denoting his various achievements.

As Eris disembarked the aircraft he found a contingent of rifle barrels pointed at him.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend Colonel" he called out "We have a mutual enemy, so why don't we be friends? Who don't point guns at each other."

The man in the tan suit stepped into view, his presence immediately dwarfing that of the soldiers surrounding Eris. It was clear in an instant that he held power and knew it. His very manner of standing- ramrod with head tilted back- almost seemed to suggest that he looked down on you for a reason. It didn't help that he was only around five foot five.

"Lower your weapons men" he barked, his voice coming out probably deeper than he had intended it too, most likely in an attempt to intimidate the new arrival "This little shit's got more redactions in his file than Captain Argall."

Eris stepped out of the circle and calmly walked past the relatively diminutive man.

"Now now Colonel Gnome, I'm going to let that one slide, because as friends we banter" he chided "Walk with me. I've been given a brief sitrep on the way over, but I'd like your tactical assessment."

The man spluttered, trying to form a response to counter the child who had just insulted him in front of his subordinates. He was the base commander here and he'd be damned before he'd simply allow an insult like that to pass without a retort. Unfortunately the boy had walked away towards the command tent they'd set up at such a speed that he was already lifting the flap to enter.

"Struggling to keep up? Must be the legs" Eris called back over his shoulder. He knew he shouldn't but.

"_What do you mean you shouldn't? You would be a fool not to insult those below your station boy! New troops can be drafted in all the time, and if things come to it you can just sort the problem out yourself. Those who believe they should not be insulted for being poorer at the job should either work harder or leave. That is the way of the world and it can be no other way!"_

Eris opened his mouth to respond, only for it to slam shut as the Colonel stormed into the tent. He couldn't, however, stop it creeping open again for another jibe.

"Colonel Gnome, good to see you finally made it. I was beginning to worry you'd got lost fishing."

The man's face reddened as he let his temper bubble to the surface "We're on a volcano you asshole! Where the fuck would I fish?" he roared.

"You could try for a Slugma in the lava. Even with your legs I'm sure you could catch it if it tried to run away."

The Colonel raised his hand to strike Eris, before he looked around at the men and women who were supposed to be analysing maps of the area. Currently though they were watching the Colonel and Eris.

"Get back to work!" he screamed at them, having completely lost his composure and most likely much of the respect he might have had "And someone tell this child what the situation is, I need to organise the men."

With that he stormed out, leaving the analysts bewildered at having just seen a decorated officer lose it in front of much of his upper command due to a few barbs placed by a young boy. One of the woman, stood closest to Eris, let out a low, slow whistle of appreciation.

Her hair was dyed a brilliant opal green and tied back in a ponytail that she let hang over her left shoulder. Her eyes were wide and slightly bloodshot around the brown irises, but they still seemed attentive as she took a long drink from a mug she was using to hold down one corner of the map spread across the table. Inscribed on the mug was a line from an ancient text uncovered on an island far to the west: Hide a knife behind a goat.

She turned the mug around when she put it back down, revealing a second line of inscribed text: Shut the door to catch a fish.

"Kid, I don't know who you are, but anyone who can make a hardass like Wulfsige break down like that is fucking-a in my eyes."

"You can flirt later Vivian, just tell the kid what he needs to know" one of the other women from across the tent said.

Vivian rolled her eyes and beckoned Eris to the table to look at the map. She picked up a thick black marker from next to the map and started circling spots on the mountainside.

"The largest enemy concentrations are located here, here and here" she said as she marked them "We believe that the primary target is located at the very peak. Altaria stealth flyovers have revealed little about their plan."

Eris studied the map, committing it to memory before asking "Where's Flannery?"

"She's holding the Chimney-Lavaridge Pass, stopping them fleeing into the caves and holding out there."

"Can you get in contact with her?" Eris questioned.

"Yes, of course. What are you planning?" Vivian asked, intrigued.

"Just tell her to push up the mountain when she sees an explosion. We'll need to split their forces. I'll need a rifle and two breaching charges. Get your men that are still down here into birds and send them up to the top when you see the second charge go off. The rest of them can march up the slopes and help distract the enemy" he finished, walking to the outside of the tent.

"I can't just get you those things. I don't have that kind of power and anyway, I don't orders from you."

"Then tell your hardass commanding officer to get me it. Otherwise I'll just have to take it from the armoury myself."

Within a few minutes two breaching charges were being presented to Eris, who clipped them to his belt before leaning down to grab the barrel of the rifle that was leaning against a rock.

"The S-82 is currently the planet's leading assault rifle. Produced by the Silph Company's Weapons Division, it's been used in minor skirmishes for the past six years by every leading military with unparalleled reports of exceptional service. It fires five point two four by forty mil cartridges of thirty-six per mag in single shot, three round bursts and full auto at a rate of fourteen to 18 rounds per minute of sustained fire, or fifty-four to seventy-two of semi-automatic fire and effective up to eight hundred metres. Unfortunately we can only give you one mag, since you're technically classed as a civie and this has to be off the books."

While the soldier who had fetched the supplies for Eris was detailing the rifle's specifications he'd buried the stock in his shoulder, checking the sights were properly aligned before checking the magazine, flicking the fire selector to single shot after he had reinserted it, pulled the charging handle back and flicked the safety off.

Slinging the strap over his shoulder Eris thanked the soldier and walked towards the only viable method of transport to the top of the mountain, the cable car. The squat metal box had rusted slightly over the years of its service, but it was sturdy and could hopefully withstand a few volleys of fire from the Team Magma grunts at the other station. Just off the platform, underneath the car was a thin track to guide it round the corner. In between the guidance rails was a small gap.

Eris climbed into the car and signalled to the operator in the booth who started the motor running, propelling the red box upwards and away from safety.

* * *

_**A/N: **Hello everyone. I've no idea how successful this is going to be since I haven't uploaded anything for four months. I've simply been uninspired to write any more of this story for a long time, but I've decided that I'm going to at least see it out to the end, no matter when that is. Hopefully within the next year. I do have documents saved that can give way to a plethora of sequels if enough people end up liking this first instalment, but once again I don't know how that's going to be since I don't even know if anyone is reading this note. If you are I thank you for taking the time to digest a budding writer's work and if you've been waiting since August for this, I'm sorry it's so short compared to other parts. I wanted the fight atop Mt. Chimney to be its own part and I promise it will both be long, hopefully exciting and most importantly, released before the New Year. Merry specific December holiday. And once again, thank you._


	25. Chapter 4: Part 4- Battle on Mt Chimney

The box pulled into the station, slowing down as it connected with the rails. Suddenly it stopped, the motor disengaged. From behind coverings in the station muzzle flashes appeared, a thunderous clanging of metal impacting metal filling the air as they unloaded their firearms into the car, punching hole after hole into its side.

When the firing had stopped heads popped out from behind their hiding places, sneering at the ruined transport.

"Grant, Zack, Sarah, check the car. See what they've sent us" one man, who was conspicuously still hiding behind a solid metal wall, called out to some of the others.

Three of the grunts emerged, rifles lazily pointed downwards. They had thoroughly assured themselves that there was nothing bad in the box.

There was nothing in the box.

The woman, Sarah, stepped into the car, desperately seeking some item contained within. But there was nothing. Still inside the car she called out to her superior.

"There's nothing in her-"

The rest of her words and presumably her scream were cut off by the first explosion. A great wrenching of metal filled their ears as the breaching charge planted on the side of the car was detonated, sending deadly metal shrapnel through the upper legs and abdomen of Sarah.

Taking advantage of the confusion Eris rose into a crouch from where he'd been hidden in the gap between the rails, having held on to the outside of the car all the way to the top of the mountain after he'd planted the explosive. He brought the rifle up and steadied the sights on the two men who had accompanied Sarah, putting a bullet through each of their heads.

The twin cracks, along with the grisly fate of Sarah, sent the rest of the grunts into a frenzied panic. Some began wildly firing at anything that moved, which was certainly not conducive to the continued survival of those who had taken to running around terrified. Others, clearly having signed up as a sign of rebellion to their parents, were sat on the ground, openly weeping and begging their mothers to take them home.

Only a select few had managed to stay calm under the circumstances and it was these few who had ducked back behind their coverings, scanning the area for the assailant. They wouldn't have any luck however, as Eris had climbed onto the platform as soon as he had squeezed the trigger for the second time, dashing to get behind some sturdier cover of his own.

He moved from section to section, circling round the outside of the station towards the exit. The grunts that weren't cowering in fear or lying on the ground whimpering as their blood started to pool beneath them had managed to regroup in front of the exit, barring passage.

Eris looked at the Pokéballs clipped to his belt and selected Arnold's, tossing it over the banner he was currently behind and into the midst of the gathered troops. The small Pokémon burst out of the capsule to the surprise of the grunts.

"Arnold, eat their rifles!" Eris called.

One of the grunts pointed his rifle where he'd heard Eris' voice come from, but before he could pull the trigger he was pounced upon by Arnold, who'd launched himself at the barrel and knocked it skittering away. The grunt chased after it as Eris moved from his spot, narrowly avoiding the volley of bullets that passed through the thin sheet. Arnold meanwhile had jumped onto another gun and had latched onto it, devouring the metal it was made from rapidly and starting the process of converting it into armour.

The grunt holding the rifle strained against the weight on its end and tried to shake the Pokémon off to no avail, eventually giving up and throwing it to the floor, Arnold's body striking up sparks as the metal scraped against rock. The grunt was still retreating to behind the line of his comrades when Arnold finished the firearm and started glowing brilliantly.

The unexpected evolution stunned Eris, but all he could see without exposing himself was the light coming from behind the pillar he was using as a barrier. When it faded he peered round the side as much as he dared, but was only able to see a black, almost formless mass before it disappeared through the platform and into the mountain. He pulled his head back as a bullet whizzed past.

He was about to lean around for a second time in order to take a shot of his own when the ground beneath him fell away into a tunnel.

In front of him was the strange black mass that Arnold had evolved into. It turned around and clomped along the tunnel, Eris following it while keeping his rifle trained on the entrance Arnold had opened. Eris felt the tunnel begin to slope upwards as the light steadily faded, his shoes making a slight splashing sound with every step. Just as Eris was losing sight of the walls new light flooded in from behind along with a wave of heat. He turned around and saw that the tunnel had opened into the crater, the wall falling into the lava.

Arnold was still digging away at the mountain rock, shaping the tunnel further upwards to the rim of the crater, allowing Eris to see what Arnold had evolved into.

Most surprisingly, the amorphous black blob that Eris had seen dig into the ground at the cable car station had been covered in steel armour in a matter of minutes, defining a shape for the Pokémon. It stood on all fours to a height of about six feet and five and a half feet head to tail, fully plated in solid armour. The vast majority of its body and lower jaw were covered by darker steel, with raised and slightly lighter bands running from its legs up a silvery spine of interlocking plates that stopped short before its tail. Around its thighs were bands that possessed a spike jutting upwards, with a similar band made of the silvery material encircling its ankles just above its three sharpened toes.

The silvery spine running along its back had a hole located in every plate on either side, with three on each side at the face plate, which came down just below the eyes far enough to cover the jaw hinge.

_Lairon- The Iron Armour Pokémon. Despite the large size and heavy weight every Lairon carries with its armour, Lairon have the ability to move rapidly across mountainous terrain and have shown the ability to climb vertically, using their powerful, stubby legs to drive their claws deep into rock faces for grip. The true form of a Lairon without its armour on has never been seen, as it commonly is fully destroyed and liquidated before attempts to breach the armour are successful. As soon as an Aron evolves the resulting Lairon will dig into the earth, consuming any material in the process. Their armour can take varying amounts of time to develop, depending on the amount of iron located around their evolution site. Being highly territorial when untrained, miners must be wary of attempting to mine ore veins near to where Lairon nest._

Arnold opened his jaw wide and crunched through the last bit of rock obstructing the surface, allowing Eris to stick his head up through the gap.

"Good work Arnold, take a rest" he said, recalling the Pokémon as he checked the surrounding area for threats. Seeing none he clambered out of the hole entirely and ran to a nearby ridge, peering over it. On the other side he could see a large group of floating rocks, about a quarter of them shaped like a depiction of the sun- solid orange bodies with eight yellow spikes radiating from them- and the other three quarters like a crescent moon with the addition of a beak-like protrusion from the centre of the crescent.

_Solrock- The Meteorite Pokémon. The earliest reports of Solrock are tied to those of Lunatone, referenced in an ancient text that stated the sun and moon had fallen to experience the lives of those they watched over. Common scientific consensus is that a meteor was seen by the civilisation and that Solrock and Lunatone were found at the crash site. However, there is a large amount of debate as to whether they are creatures that resided in space, or were simply lumps of rock that became imbued with psychic powers. Solrock have the ability to absorb and channel sunlight that it stores within its body through the eight spines. It is believed to either feed through photosynthesis or not to eat at all. The light it stores can also be converted to other forms of energy, allowing it to generate fire. They have no gender._

_Lunatone- The Meteorite Pokémon. The earliest reports of Lunatone are tied to those of Solrock, referenced in an ancient text that stated the moon and sun had fallen to experience the lives of those they watched over. Common scientific consensus is that a meteor was seen by the civilisation and that Lunatone and Solrock were found at the crash site. However, there is a large amount of debate as to whether they are creatures that resided in space, or were simply lumps of rock that became imbued with psychic powers. A Lunatone's strength waxes and wanes with the phases of the moon, becoming stronger as the moon becomes fuller. Depending on its strength, those who look directly into the eyes of Lunatone range from being mildly unnerved to paralysed with fear. They have no gender._

The line about gaining power with the moon explained why there were so many more Lunatone that Solrock in the gathering. Eris scanned the clearing and saw there were no guards. Presumably they were content to let the psychic powers of the Pokémon keep intruders away. Eris was about to continue around the ridge out of sight when something caught his eye. On the opposite site of the plateau, where the mountain began to slope downwards and trees were being allowed to grow, stood what looked like a young girl _en pointe_ just inside the tree line, with images a desert and ocean superimposed onto the trees.

Its legs were thin and entirely green until they vanished behind a pure white dress that flared out at an almost ninety degree angle at its hips, continuing up its slender body and completely covering its arms that were currently bent so that its two-fingered hands were right in front of its chest. Its green hair extended down to its elbows on both sides and hung covering its right eye. Two red semi-circular horns stuck out from under its hair and its left eye was closed.

_Kirlia- The Emotion Pokémon. Kirlia who are exposed to the positive emotions of their Trainer grow to be extremely beautiful. It is additionally believed that these positive emotions feed their psychokinetic powers. The brain of a Kirlia possesses many regions that those of humans do not, leading scientists to speculate that these additional regions are what cause their psychic powers. Kirlia normally manifest their powers in the form of telekinesis or telepathy straight from their mind, however if a sufficiently strong Kirlia manifests its powers through its horns it has the potential to control other beings, warp reality and see into the future. This is often seen as the Kirlia becoming surrounded by shimmering panes of non-existent scenery._

Eris realised exactly why there were no guards and sent out Alex.

"Go into the tunnel back there. There's a water spring not far under the surface. Store as much as can in a minute and then come back and fire small shots at the large group over there. Keep moving while you're doing it" he told the Marshtomp, who sped off into the tunnel. While he was waiting Eris lined up the S-82's sights with the Kirlia's head and fired. He wasn't surprised to see the bullet go far to the left of his target. He quickly moved, knowing that the large group of Psychic Pokémon now at least knew of his presence, if not where he was. He felt a small niggle at the back of his head and in his eyes. He shut them and started thinking about other locations to stop them using his own senses against him.

He blindly felt his way back to the tunnel, all the time generating false feelings to throw the Psychic Pokémon. Eventually he felt the niggle, which had grown into something akin to an egg being pressed into the back of his brain, go away and he felt it safe to open his eyes again. The moment he did a wave of energy slammed into him and sent him flying across the ridge and into the centre of the Meteorite Pokémon, who all slowly swivelled to face him.

He stood up and tried to run, only to be pulled back to the centre of the group and held suspended in the air, his assault rifle hanging uselessly from the strap. As he watched a figure emerged from the trees, having been stood behind the Kirlia. His green hair was cropped shorter than the last time Eris had seen him, but he seemed far from the nervous young boy he was that last time.

"What a pleasure to see you here Eris" Wally said "I expect you're wondering what I'm doing here with Team Magma. It's simple really. I'm going to be their king."

Before Eris could respond a jet of water shot out from behind the ridge and hit one of the Solrock, knocking it to the ground. Successive jets rapidly followed, each one precisely striking a member of the ring that had formed. No longer focused on the task, they let Eris drop on top of a jagged rock. His foot connected with it and he tumbled to the ground, pain shooting through his ankle.

He rose and charged at Wally in a strange sort of limp, only to get brutally pulled back down by psychic powers. Wally looked at him with contempt and swung his foot back. Eris braced himself, knowing what was about to come, but nothing could prepare him for the ferocity that was carried by the kick. It came in from the side and Eris felt his cheekbone break under the force of the impact, as well as a couple of teeth from the back of his mouth being shaken loose. He wouldn't have thought such force possible from the wiry kid, then realised that the Kirlia was probably helping him out.

Despite not being prepared for the kick, Eris was prepared to deal with the pain that accompanied it, the abuse he'd suffered during his earlier childhood making it a familiar feeling that he was used to removing from his focus.

"For some reason, Igneous thinks you're a threat to our plans. Right now you don't look like much of a threat. I could have my Kirlia rip you limb from limb, or turn your blood into acid. Instead I'm going to keep you here like this and slowly dip you into the lava when we're done. And then I'm going to watch while you die screaming in agony. And then I will rule over this land."

Eris was amazed. He had no idea one person could be so egotistical as to think they'd already won at such an early stage. Especially since, he realised with a start, his limbs were no longer being held down. He quietly reached inside his coat and unhooked the second explosive, affixing it to the rock beneath him before he removed his focus from all the pain and threw himself at the would be king in front of him, grasping him around the knees and bringing him crashing down.

Before Wally could react Eris moved up his body, slamming his shoulder into Wally's groin while reaching up and slamming his open palmed hand into Wally's face. He got off the kid who was curled up in pain and saw that the Kirlia was busy deflecting shot after shot of water while at the same time ripping apart the ground that Alex was dodging around on. He brought the rifle back up to his eye, wincing as the broken cheekbone made contact with the gun, and flicked the fire selector to a three round burst. He pulled the trigger twice before continuing to limp towards the Kirlia.

The bullets had no effect as the Kirlia detected the greater threat and focused his attention on them, allowing him to be hit with one of the jets of water. As Eris felt the ground beneath his feet begin to shift he hit the trigger on the detonator, forcing the Kirlia to focus on protecting his Trainer from the explosion. Eris saw the water coming in, flicked the fire selector to full auto and jammed his finger on the trigger. Torn between protecting himself and his Trainer, the Kirlia was distracted just long enough for the final stream of water to hit him, distracting him even more and causing the bullets to impact his body, crimson spurting from the wounds and staining the water.

He somehow stayed upright, possibly held there subconsciously, until Eris closed the distance and put a final three bullets in his head. As the bullets tore through his brain he crumpled to the ground, his powers lashing out in his final moments. Eris was buffeted by the psychic storm and looked in confusion as his gun turned into an accurate representation of itself made entirely from leaves, which quickly fell apart and dispersed.

"Nice work Alex" Eris said as the Marshtomp approached him.

"What now?" Alex asked, looking around in concern in case there were any other Psychic Pokémon around ready to tear him apart.

"Now we kill the kid before attacking the rest of them" Eris said grimly before a great deal of flapping caught his attention. He looked skyward and saw what he theorised must be Golbat, thinking them to be the evolved form of Zubat, flying in a large throng towards the opposite edge of the crater. As he watched a small group of them detached from the blue and purple mass carrying a rock about twice the size of a human head. A man stood from where he was sat and beckoned a woman from nearby to help him carry it over to a strange contraption they'd set up at the edge of the crater with a pipe extending into the lava.

"Scrap that, now we go after those two" Eris muttered, returning Alex to his Pokéball and sending out Bolt instead. The hotheaded canine took in Eris' condition and saw where he was looking.

"No fucking way. Do I look like a pack horse to you?" he snarled.

"That's not what I needed you for. I need to you run interference, take out those Golbat so I can get over there. In short, I want you to fuck their shit up."

"Now you're talking my language" Bolt growled before taking off. He couldn't have been more than fifty yards away when he collapsed to the ground, howling in pain and scratching at his head.

"I guess that gives me a maximum range" Eris said as he sent Arnold back out and climbed between two of the spines. The Lairon, belying its size and weight, rocketed forwards closing the distance between Eris and Bolt rapidly. Bolt stood up as they neared, shaking his head and barking in anger, charging at the cloud of Golbat as they drew level.

Electricity shot from his mane, ionising the air and rending the cloud in two. Further bolts split the group into progressively smaller and smaller units, Golbat convulsing as the lightning struck them and they plummeted to the ground or into the lava. Eris and Arnold followed in this wake of destruction as they ran towards the man, who Eris could now see was Igneous, and the woman.

She was garbed similar to the female grunts, though it was obvious from the various improvements she'd made to the uniform that she was anything but. To start with she'd done away with the hideous red bands around her ankles, replacing them and the shoes with more fashionable boots that extended up to just below her knees. They were primarily made of some red material that seemed like wool at first glance, but was more likely expertly cut leather. The sole, toes and heel of the boots, along with a strip that ran up the side, were crafted of a lighter red. A black protrusion stuck out of the top, covering her knee caps.

She had retained the hood, but replaced the horns with yellow ones that curved at the ends. The lilac hair it covered spilled out from under it, stopping just short of her eyes that were the same colour as her hair. She wore a form hugging dress that had the same lines running down it as her boots underneath a strange red and black jacket that crossed below her breasts and flared out at her hips, leaving her sides exposed. Around each wrist was a large band comprised of four gold bands, one at the top of her wrist and three further back, connected by a thick red covering. Her hands were covered by sturdy gloves suited for mountaineering.

Igneous, in sharp contrast to his subordinate, wore a worn earthy cloak that cut short below the knee, showing the muddied trousers and hiking boots beneath. Despite the cloud of Golbat falling apart around them they manoeuvred the rock into place atop the machine calmly before turning to face the three approaching them. They had a quick whispered discussion before Igenous turned and fled down the mountain before rising into the air on a Golbat of his own, leaving his subordinate to deal with Eris. Bolt tried to strike the fleeing man down, but found his shot constantly blocked by other Golbat and on one occasion a small ball of metal the woman had shot out of her wrist band.

"I am Courtney, one of the Team Magma Admins" she shouted to Eris "And I challenge you, Eris Doohan, Slayer, to a battle."

"I decline" he replied as Courtney tossed out a Pokéball, releasing a large black wolf the same size as Bolt, but a whole lot more threatening. It howled a long, low primal howl before snarling at Bolt and causing him to back down slightly.

"I guess I accept then" Eris said bitterly, noticing that the machine was being surrounded by Golbat "Use Spark Bolt."

The Manectric tensed his back legs and launched himself at the wolf, his fur crackling with electricity. When he connected with the wolf it convulsed, kicking up loose dirt into Bolt's eyes with its flailing legs. Bolt held on and released another jolt into the wolf, knocking it out completely. He turned to attack Courtney but was knocked off course by one of Golbat flying out from the swarm.

"Shock Wave Bolt!" Eris shouted, but was yanked to the side by Arnold when the electricity, expanding into a large sparking field, started coming towards them.

"Not at me you idiot!"

Courtney took advantage of the dispute that was beginning to arise between Trainer and Pokémon and ordered her Golbat to use Supersonic. It opened its mouth abnormally wide and began screeching, but Bolt simply barked back, loud enough to stun it into inaction. He quickly followed it up with a second Shock Wave, but the Golbat flew over the top of the field before it had expanded far enough.

"I thought you couldn't miss with that attack" Eris yelled at Bolt.

"Normally you don't have the flapping of dozens of fucking bats distracting you, the training to control that field and two working eyes!" the Pokémon barked back.

While Bolt was distracted talking to Eris the Golbat closed the distance and latched onto him with its teeth, drawing forth a small pained yelp from the Manectric before it channelled enough electricity through its fur to fry the nervous system of the Golbat completely. Its mouth relaxed and it fell off.

In its place Courtney sent out a hulking orange beast that was five feet across with three blue rings on its flanks and two giant stones sticking out of its back like humps, raising its total height to eight feet. Heat radiated off of it in a similar manner to that of a Numel, though it seemed to be far more controlled. Even as Eris stood there he could feel the heat being directed towards him and he quickly returned Bolt to his Pokéball and sent Alex out.

The orange Pokémon shifted its back a small amount and great rumbling came from deep within it, culminating in the release of a small flaming rock that struck Alex, who quickly brushed it off and squirted a small amount of water where it had hit him. In retaliation he released a far larger amount of water high into the air, where it split into two streams that crashed down into the humps, causing it to recoil in pain as steam rose from within.

It stamped its hoof and focused its energy, raising the heat around them a few more degrees. It bellowed and started to shake its shoulders, but was silenced by a blast to the face from Alex. Courtney looked panicked and pressed a button on her band, pulling out a capsule filled with orange liquid. She threw it into one of the humps and the Pokémon seemed to recover slightly, coughing out the water it had ingested.

Unfortunately Alex had shot a third lot of water skywards and it chose that moment to splash into the humps, generating even more steam, but more importantly the defeat of the Pokémon. However, the steam washed over Eris and blocked his view, Courtney using it as an opportunity to escape after recalling her Pokémon. The cloud of Golbat that remained also fled, scattering across the region.

Eris rode Arnold to the edge of the crater when he could see where he was going and wrestled the meteorite off of the machine, stopping whatever it was it was doing. He dropped it to the floor and turned around, recalling Alex, to see a large contingent of soldiers spread across the rest of the top of the mountain with dead or captured Team Magma personnel at the feet.

One person stood there was quite clearly not a soldier however, surrounded as she was by Pokémon. Her flaming red hair shot out from her head at any angle it wished. Above the waist she wore as little clothing as she was able to get away with, the black vest opened up and tied off just below her breasts, exposing her red bra with a flame emblem on it. On her legs she wore regular jeans that flared out at the bottom, held up with an orange belt. Eris directed Arnold over to her.

"Hey kid" she called as they neared "I got your signal. We iced those guys."

* * *

_**A/N: **Next time will be another short chapter as we battle Flannery. Coming to a webpage near to you before the New Year. After that, Interlude 4, which I still haven't worked out yet._


	26. Chapter 4: Part 5- Flannery

"Lady Flannery, I thank you for the assistance. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"No problem. Most of them were frozen in fear the moment they saw me" she replied.

"I did think you were rather relaxed for someone who had just taken part in a firefight" he remarked, shifting his weight on top of Arnold.

"I live my life by two simple rules; chill, and have fun." She noted his still neutral (though pained) expression and pouted.

"Aren't you going to ask about the ice puns?"

"No" he said bluntly.

Flannery dropped the fake pout and became exasperated.

"Wattson was right about you, you really need to thaw out. Maybe a fiery battle with me will work!" she shouted, suddenly passionate, as she squared her shoulders, thrusting her chest forwards and bending her arms slightly.

"I would be glad to battle with you" Eris said, pausing to wipe some blood off of his face with the back of his hand "But I feel it would be best if my Pokémon and I had a rest first."

Flannery was about to reply when Colonel Wulfsige arrived and inclined his head to her, interrupting their conversation. Eris told him about the loss of the rifle and of Wally who, Eris realised, had been ignored during his charge towards Courtney and Igneous. The Colonel sent some men over to recover them, but they returned empty handed, saying that all they could find were cracks in the ground.

"Bastard must've somehow gotten away and taken his Kirlia with him" Eris spat out "At least it should be easy to track him down. He'll probably turn up at a hospital sooner or later to fix his nose."

"I'll issue a standing order to detain anyone matching his description" the Colonel said gruffly, summoning another of his subordinates to take notes.

Eris gave the man Wally's description, along with Courtney's, noting that additional information was being written down for her, most importantly a bounty. People were often more observant when money was involved. Though they sometimes got a little too observant.

"Now, boy, are you going to tell me what we've accomplished here, apart from the capture of a large portion of Team Magma's lower command structure?" Colonel Wulfsige questioned.

Eris thought carefully for a second before answering "I honestly have no idea if we accomplished anything at all. Courtney fled without caring about that machine, implying it was either unimportant or had fulfilled its purpose. If that latter is to be believed than we failed to stop it, whatever it is. If the former is to be believed then there must have been some secondary purpose that we most likely failed to stop. So, the most probable outcome is that we accomplished little past capturing a load of grunts, discovering the identity of one of their higher-ups, and a loss of personnel and equipment from your first attempts at attack."

The Colonel looked like he was about to explode with anger again at how coldly Eris had treated his analysis, but remembered that it would only serve as further fuel against him if anyone made a complaint about him being unsuitable to lead the army, and so settled with grunting and walking away.

Eris turned back to Flannery who was looking rather awkward.

"I didn't know what to do when he nodded to me" she said, flustered "Technically I'm below him in terms of rank, so I didn't know whether to salute or not. Being treated like an equal, or even above him, was the weirdest thing he could have done. Oh, I almost forgot. A courier came by earlier with a package for you from Mr. Stone. The note with it said you'd need it for the desert."

"That explains the helicopter. They must have been on their way there when he redirected them. I can't help but be suspicious though."

"It's impossible to not be at least a least a little bit suspicious of Mr. Stone. He always knows when something big is happening. Some people think he's the head of HIS. Now come on, let's get back to town. All these guns are starting to make me nervous."

XXXXXX

The ride down the mountain was uneventful and dull, if you ignored the fact that Arnold was able to move directly down the surface. A myriad of caves littered Jagged Pass, but all of them were ignored in favour of moving straight over, and in some cases through, the rocks that typically barred passage to all but the most intrepid of climbers.

Lavaridge Town was a quaint little place with a population small enough to have it be classed as a village, its township status only being granted due to the presence of Gym. It sat about a quarter of the way up Mt. Chimney where a major spring was situated and was famous for its hot springs and traditional herbal medicines, which were still favoured by all of the town's inhabitants despite the presence of a Pokémon Centre and hospital.

The Pokémon Centre had only been installed because of Trainer's complaining about their Pokémon suffering from the herbal medicines. It was quickly upgraded to contain a regular hospital when it became apparent that the residents' health was steadily deteriorating from various injuries they'd suffered over the years.

After extending the lifespan of the increasingly elderly population by a few more years the hospital saw little further use besides the occasional accident, until some of the more dangerous caves on Mt. Chimney were opened up. The hospital was swiftly equipped with a helicopter and crew were trained in mountain rescue. It hadn't been necessary before due to climbers having Pokémon with them that were able to get them down the mountain safely. In the newly discovered caves- which were far smaller than those on the regulation route- there simply wasn't the room to let the required Pokémon out of their balls.

Given that many of the accidents were to do with people's legs the hospital was well stocked to deal with Eris' ankle.

"You just partially tore some ligaments in the ankle. The medicine should fix it in a couple of hours, but you should refrain from performing any strenuous activity on it for a few days" the Nurse Joy had told him while he worked on his cheek.

Joy wasn't his actual surname, instead being more of an honorific. Every person who had graduated from the Joy Academy and were thus highly trained in Pokémon care, and at least partially trained in regular medicine, were granted the right call themselves Nurse Joy. Furthermore, it was a legal name to use on its own, causing a large headache for police services.

Nurse Joy finished working on his cheekbone and he felt feeling start to return to his face. The young girl doing her one year in work at the Centre entered the room to inform Eris and Nurse Joy that Eris' Pokémon were fully healed and were suffering no random internal effects from the psychic storm. Eris thanked her and went to collect them.

XXXXXX

The humidity and heat inside the Gym was cloying. Eris' clothes became soaked within a matter of seconds and every step forwards felt like he was pushing aside mud. He was amazed than Flannery was able to move with such ease inside the place, but he reasoned that if this was where she spent a large portion of time she'd become accustomed.

The entire Gym was one large rocky room which could have been a cave inside of Mt. Chimney. Even the walls and ceiling were crafted from rock. Littered across it were steam geysers and pools of water. The largest of these pools contained a large orange tortoise with a black shell that had some hexagonal red holes on it. The top of shell and the Pokémon's nostrils periodically released steam.

_Torkoal- The Coal Pokémon. Torkoal dig ceaselessly through mountains until they find a large amount of coal, which they will immediately consume and begin the combustion of. The coal is burned at almost 100% efficiency, with only a small amount being used to heat water to emit as steam when needed. The empty red hexagons on its shell are used to store smaller quantities of coal, either for eating while mining or- as is becoming more common- for extra energy during a battle. Trainers using Torkoal are highly advised to stockpile coal to stop their Torkoal disappearing. Upon it sensing danger in the wild it will release all the steam it has stored to burn its attacker and cover its escape. When not mining they are often found taking long rests in small pools. Some people have been known to use them as a method of heating their house or sauna._

While Eris was reading the Torkoal Flannery, who had bounded into the room, was looking like she was about to explode from excitement. He nodded to the referee, who wholly seemed to like being in the oppressive heat as much as Eris, and they began speaking.

"This is a battle between Lady Flannery of Lavaridge Town and-"

"ChallengerErisofOrrefortheHeatBadgeBegin!" Flannery finished "This is going to be so cool! Let's go Slugma."

The Pokémon was only about two feet tall, but that was highly impressive given that it was little more than conscious magma with eyes.

_Slugma- The Lava Pokémon. The circulatory system of a Slugma can only be summarised as a continuous convection current of magma flowing throughout its body, re-heating exterior magma and replacing it with interior magma. This current also circulates nutrients it somehow absorbs into itself without destroying them to its brain, located in the very centre of it. Since it exclusively lives in volcanic areas where its exterior magma is often the same temperature as- if not hotter than- the interior magma it is constantly moving to cool the exterior magma with airflow. However if the exterior magma is cooled too greatly it shall solidify and begin to break off, reducing the size of the Slugma._

Eris feared that if he used Alex to defeat the Slugma he could end up solidifying the entire Pokémon and killing it, so he decided on his back-up plan.

"Vulcan, let's do this."

The Numel appeared from out of the ball and slowly shook his head. The heat rose further and Eris grew even more uncomfortable. The humidity was affecting Vulcan as well, the water in the air not reacting well with the Pokémon.

"Use Magnitude Vulcan" Eris said.

"O. Kay" Vulcan said, raising his front legs up and slamming them back down with earth-shattering force. The tremors raced over to the Slugma and shook it to pieces, leaving it as a few lumps of magma on the cracked floor.

"That didn't go too well, but there's no harm in trying again" Flannery cried, sending out a second Slugma onto the field.

"Do it again."

"Sure. Thing. Boss."

The second Slugma met the same fate as the first one, splattering across the now further damaged rocks. As Eris watched they started to reform, trickling together slowly. After a minute they were both fully reconstituted, forcing the referee to step in.

"The two Slugma are technically classed as knocked out, having been broken in parts too small to affect the opponent."

"Humph" Flannery huffed "I guess it's all up to you then Torkoal."

Upon hearing its name the Torkoal rose from the pool, slowly walking towards the field of battle and Vulcan. It stood at roughly four and a half feet from ground to the top of its shell.

"Take it down while it's advancing Vulcan" Eris told his Pokémon.

Vulcan raised his legs for a third time, but was noticeably weaker upon slamming them back down. When the shockwave reached the Tokoal it continued as if it was a minor inconvenience.

"Haha, yeah Torkoal!" Flannery shouted "Use Body Slam!"

The Torkoal crouched before leaping into the air towards Vulcan. The Numel tried to move out of the way but gravity accelerated the opposing Pokémon downwards and into his hump. Upon rebounding the Torkoal continued to walk forwards with the same slow speed as before.

Vulcan had taken some serious from the blow and was currently attempting to straighten one of his legs that had buckled under the impact force.

"Vulcan, you did a good job" Eris said "Take a rest and let Alex finish this."

Vulcan's Pokéball was opened, the Pokémon vanishing inside and being replaced on the field by Alex. Before he could do anything though the Torkoal had leapt into the air at a second shout of 'Body Slam' from Flannery.

"Dodge it!" Eris shouted. Alex moved to the right over the broken terrain, but was stunned when a burst of fire shot out of the right-hand side of the Torkoal, adjusting its course to be on target once more. Alex took the full force of the attack in his face, knocking him flat against the ground with the Torkoal standing over him.

It leapt up into the air for a third time, attempting to defeat Alex. However, it came back down on top of Arnold, Eris having switched the two in a snap decision. The Body Slam did next to nothing this time round, Arnold's armour absorbing the entire blow and distributing the force. However, the shock of being suddenly impacted paralysed Arnold, giving Flannery a chance to shout out a command that struck fear into Eris.

"Overheat!"

The Torkoal sucked in one of the pieces of coal it had stored within its shell and the other red gaps ballooned with colour. It tipped its head back, drawing a mighty breath before exhaling a massive column of flame straight onto Arnold.

"No!" Eris screamed, thinking that the fire was far too intense for anyone to survive.

When the fire eventually died down all Eris could see was a slightly melted chuck of steel. As he watched a piece of the metal slowly slid back revealing a pained, but very much alive, bright blue eye. Arnold was quickly returned to his ball and replaced on the field by Bolt, who was unsurprisingly quickly jumped upon by the Torkoal.

A nasty shock awaited the Torkoal though when it connected, Bolt having charged his fur the moment the shadow fell over him. Knocked back a lot further than on previous attempts and now having taken hefty damage, the Torkoal was beginning to show signs of flagging.

"Use Attract" Flannery said, deciding to play it safe.

The Torkoal tried to make itself look prettier by wreathing itself in smoke to hide the craggier parts of its shell.

"Why would I ever be attracted to that?" Bolt growled, closing the distance the smacking into the Torkoal brutally. However it seemed that this was just what Flannery wanted.

"Flail."

Her Pokémon whipped its head and tail around violently, smacking Bolt hard even as it was knocked by the force of Bolt's attack. One of the tail strikes caught Bolt's leg, making a hideous cracking sound and causing him to fall to the floor howling in pain. Bolt was soon added to the group of heavily injured Pokémon back inside their Pokéballs and away from this menace.

Alex took his place on the field again and they both watched in despair as Flannery took the time to throw a purple packet into the hole on the top of Torkoal's shell, revitalising it instantly.

"Use Mud Slap Alex. Blind the damn thing."

Fortunately the repeated tremors from Vulcan had broken the walls of a few of the pools and the water had mixed with the powered rock and dirt, forming a sort of mud that Alex flung towards the eyes of the Torkoal. In response it puffed out more steam after Flannery told it to use Attract again. Against all logic Alex completely ignored the next order Eris issued him with, instead choosing to stare lovingly at the hideous Torkoal.

It was then Eris realised that the purple packet Flannery had thrown to the Torkoal hadn't completely revitalised it. Its legs were twitching slightly, and though it looked like it was trying to obey Flannery's order to slam Alex into the ground it just couldn't.

Amazingly this happened for a second time, with neither Pokémon able to move due to a status effect. The third time Eris yelled at Alex to use Mud Shot he fortunately listened, the smoke around the Torkoal having dispersed enough to break the spell. Thick globules of mud were soon flying towards the Torkoal, clogging some of the holes in its shell. Unfortunately this had the side effect of freeing the Torkoal from its paralysis and it quickly jumped onto Alex, pinning him to the ground once more.

Seeing the distressing situation Alex was in Eris shrugged off his bag and quickly rifled through the pockets, tossing one of the bottle he'd received from the beach hut outside Slateport over to his Marshtomp. Alex caught it and downed the contents, recovering from his injuries slightly as the special formula was absorbed into his cells.

The Torkoal leapt into the air again, determined to crush Alex who scrambled out of the way. Having expended much of its energy using Overheat and having some of its holes clogged the Torkoal was unable to manoeuvre to chase Alex. The shockwave and stone chips from its landing still dealt a small amount of damage, but nowhere near the amount that a direct hit would have.

"Alex, Mud Shot. Let's finish this now!"

Alex, seeing the closest muddy pool to be located behind the Torkoal, squirted his own water onto the ground either side of himself. His flippers quickly scooped up the resulting mud and flung it towards the Torkoal, catching it full force and clogging those holes that were still clear. It collapsed, all of its energy spent, the fight over.

"The victor is Challenger Eris of Orre" the referee called, allowing Eris to recall Alex for the last time.

"That battle was so awesome" Flannery cried, running across the battlefield "It's been too long since I've had a proper one. For showing me that I can fight without using my grandfather's techniques I present to you the Heat Badge."

She dug the piece of metal from deep inside her front pocket and gave it to Eris. It was shaped like a single flame, a stronger red at the base that then diminished to a cool orange at the tip. The way it caught the light made it look like it was flickering as though it actually were fire.

"In addition to the badge I also give you the HM for Strength as well as my favourite attack, Overheat. It's powerful but takes a lot of energy, meaning that it can't be used too often."

The two discs were also dug out of pockets, the HM a dulled white and the TM a brilliant red. The two were quickly assimilated into Eris' ever growing collection of the discs.

"And finally, I give you these Go-Goggles."

The goggles had a grey frame and band holding the dark red plastic lenses in place. Eris stashed them in his coat, knowing he'd need them soon.

"Thank you Lady Flannery. I must now be leaving, as there is important work to do" Eris said as he turned away and left the oppressive, sticky heat of the Lavaridge Gym.

* * *

_**A/N: **And so Chapter 4 comes to a close. Chapter 5 is going to be a short one, but first comes Interlude 4._


	27. Interlude- The Engineers of Hoenn

Pale moonlight slid through the windows of Charlie Stone's office and squatted on the back of his chair. The tiniest portion of a breeze slipped through the gap he'd cracked open at the top and swam throughout the room, making the candlelight that was splashed across his desk dance to a non-existent tune.

He was silent, head resting on hands pressed together as if for prayer, the tips of his index fingers pushing into the inner corners of his eyes. They opened slowly with the impression that even this was a carefully considered manoeuvre. The hands were moved away from his face and hovered indecisively above his desk, throwing large shadows against one wall.

With something akin to trepidation the left hand was gently lowered to the set of drawers, the fingers being curiously run over each knob, pausing for a scant few seconds before moving to the next one in line. When they finally reached the bottom drawer they settled, grasping the iron ring that set the drawer apart and pulled. Inside the drawer was a book. A large leather backed tome bearing the title _The History of Hoenn: A Complementary Work to The Creation of the Regions- by Sona Misra. Original work by Doctor Gerald Winston_.

He heaved the work out of the desk and shut the drawer with his foot as both hands were busy delicately guiding the book onto the desk and prising open the pages. He was pleased to see an entire chapter devoted to his company but was not so narcissistic as to read it to see if it portrayed his family in the best light.

Tonight he decided on some lighter reading that was still linked to Devon Corp. in a fashion. He turned the pages until he reached two hundred and fifty-six, pressing one of many buttons hidden on the underside of his desk. A portion the length of the book slid up from within the desk at the base, before the entire section the tome was resting upon began rising and tilting forwards. Once it was at a comfortable level he lit a second candle off the first and reclined in his chair, his eyes systematically consuming the content of the chapter.

_The Engineers of Hoenn_

_Scattered across the Hoenn region are various structures and inventions that wouldn't have been possible if it were not for the first engineers. The first engineers to arrive in the Hoenn region, migrants from Johto and Kanto following the first settlers (discussed in detail in The Creation of the Regions), were responsible for some of the larger settlement projects being achieved. The most famous of these is the carving of Rustboro (studied in Chapter 2 on page sixty-seven)._

_However, before the carving of Rustboro occurred a small village in the north had already been formed. A group of engineers, numbering about twenty or so, with around fifty other people did not wish to settle on what is now known as Mossdeep Island (more information in Chapter 7, page four hundred and ninety-two) nor did they wish to travel across the rest of the continent. Thus they elected to settle in the jungle, creating the first iteration of Fortree City (Chapter 8, page six hundred and thirty-seven)._

_Deciding that they wished to preserve as fully as possible the natural barriers that the jungle was presenting them with, the folk of what was soon to become Tree Fortress Village began climbing into the canopy. When up there they chose certain branches they deemed useless or obstructive. These were removed and then hauled back up using a pulley system composed of other branches and vines._

_With the large group all working together towards their common goal one house, both carved into and extending out of one of the great trees, was finished quickly. The other houses soon followed suit and it was not long after that the rope bridges were established between the houses. Despite having created a village entirely off the ground, ten of the twenty engineers were unsatisfied. They stayed on the floor for a while, repurposing any of the bridges that fell from the village (see page six hundred and seventy-three for further learning on the significance of the bridges)._

_After the message that a man wanted to carve an entire city out of rock reached their ears they all packed what belongings they brought with them and vacated the area, leaving the magnificent village they had helped create to take part in an even greater venture. With their help and the help of the engineers who had travelled to the site of Rustboro in the first place a highly efficient system was constructed to move the excavated rock out from the work area and back again to construct buildings without interfering with the rest of the excavation._

_Upon completion of the project and the realisation that large amounts of stone remained, plans for a second city began forming in some of the engineers' minds. The stone was transported through a forest and to the site of Petalburg City. From there a few small towns began appearing nearby, with the two cities steadily expanding. However, as technological advances were shooting forwards in the other two regions they were rather delayed in the Hoenn region._

_One prolific couple, the Mauvilles, started importing some of this technology after the birth of their son, Gym Leader and arguably the most important engineer to live in the region, Wattson. Wattson was fascinated by his parent's profession and quickly followed in their footsteps, getting a group of people together to erect the city of Mauville. Very quickly he realised that there were better ways of generating power than simply using coal and began his work on constructing photovoltaic cells. Upon its completion around the same time other engineers finished their work on stabilisation of large metal constructs the towers of Mauville were created and the first power grid was established._

_Wattson chose to stay in Mauville to oversee its development alongside some of the other engineers, but the majority of them decided to once again move on to another project. Thus began the tradition of roaming engineers, which is now exemplified by apprentices having to spend a year roaming the region working on small projects before their master will certify them._

_The roaming engineers, who travelled in rotating sets of groups, had three major projects that further shaped the region, though there are those that would disagree with this statement for one project. The first two, universally agreed to have helped, are the locating and subsequent construction of Sootopolis City (Chapter 11, page nine hundred and one), and the construction of the Winstrate Desert Tunnel (discussed later). The third project that some have deemed unhelpful was the construction of Pacifidlog Town (Chapter 12, page one thousand, one hundred and fourteen)._

_Pacifidlog Town was never meant as a permanent structure, though it has evolved into one through the virtue of mostly being left alone by the other inhabitants of Hoenn. Instead it was intended as a prototype settlement to test the effectiveness of a lightweight, portable settlement powered by ocean currents for military training, reconnaissance and oceanography._

_Its effectiveness in the public eye is disputed, but in engineering circles it is widely viewed as a success. The reasons for the public being less than pleased about its construction are varied, ranging from it being a waste of time and fishing space, to it having no discernable purpose._

_After those three major projects were finished, a time which engineers refer to as the end of the second age of engineering (the first being from the construction of Tree Fortress Village to the construction of Petalburg City), there were only small advancements and many engineers retreated into their own homes or communes, training apprentices in order to prepare for the start of the third age._

_The third age itself is notable not for its achievements, but also for the fact that it quite possibly started before the first age had even begun. The key piece of the third age of engineering was Nevermelt Ice, a strange type of ice that appears to defy typical thermodynamic processes. Its name comes from the fact that no one has ever witnessed it melt, even under extreme heat._

_These findings led Wattson, along with Charlie Stone, the current head of Devon Corp., to begin work on an experimental city powered by an unknown generator cooled with Nevermelt Ice. The project was a resounding success and with the results Pokémon Centres were able to function efficiently and independently, even in remote areas._

_The second and third major events stemmed from the discovery of the Mauville generators as they are now known. The second major event was also spurred along by the discovery of Castform, a strange Pokémon species that few have ever encountered that changes its appearance based on the current weather patterns._

_Realising that they had the potential to predict the weather in their hands a group of mathematicians constructed an institute to study it. At first the attempts they made were rather primitive, but upon hiring some biochemists their usefulness skyrocketed. With the help of the biochemists they realised that Castform from different areas reacted to the weather of that area, not of the area they currently occupied._

_Furthermore, the chemicals within a Castform's brain changed as well, and they stayed changed for a few days afterwards. It was at this point that some engineers, on a pilgrimage to Fortree City, came across the Weather Institute and asked if they could lend any assistance. The mathematicians, in need of processing power to analyse the data they now knew they could collect, jumped at the chance. The Weather Institute Manipulation and Processing of data Station, referred to as WIMPS, was created by those engineers using the same theories as Mauville generators. It is, in essence, one giant computer cooled by being encased in Nevermelt Ice._

_The workers at the Weather Institute decided that information from the brains of Castform wasn't solid enough evidence, giving the engineers a second problem of how to collect vast amounts of data quickly without Pokémon. From Mossdeep Island came the answer. Using a downscaled version of the Mauville Generator they believed they could launch an object into space._

_The public thought it was crazy, that it could never be accomplished. The engineers at the Weather Institute thought it was brilliant. Soon the two groups were working together, designing sensors, scanners and trasmitters, calculating flight paths. And when all was said and done, they had built the first satellite._

_It launched on the fiftieth anniversary of the Hoenn Region being founded and it settled swiftly into its orbit. It was soon followed by satellites for other purposes such as television and telecommunications._

_Some would say that with the launching of that first satellite the third age of engineering came to a close. Others believe that we are still in the third age, which will end when Mossdeep Spaceport places a man on our moon._

_The beginning of the fourth age is under contention as much as the end of the third, with those who believe the third has ended stating the fourth shall begin when we manage to get people into space. Others believe the fourth age will begin when we discover the technology that will allow us to terraform our moon and a civilisation becomes established upon it. Only time can tell._

_What follows are detailed insights into the major projects discussed thus far. Located in Appendix E are diagrams for each of the projects and hand-written notes regarding progress and opinions._

Charlie rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. The candle was starting to burn low, and the feeble light it cast was no longer sufficient to read the book by. He pressed the button a second time, lowering the wood back into his desk and removed the book from its surface, lightly placing it back in the drawer.

Another button was pressed and the wood slid back and the section within rose. He removed the foam that had held the PokéNav and letter, and casually threw it towards the bin. Underneath was a projection system that was activated with another button press. A glowing hologram formed in the air above his desk and he tapped it experimentally a few times. Satisfied that it responded normally he opened a document filled with archaic symbols and complex diagrams.

He scrolled down, briefly taking note of some of the more interesting sections before he stopped on one of the longer portions. A large diagram accompanied it, though what the image was depicting was but a mystery at this point. The text was what was important though. As he read more and more, his wrinkled face broke into a large grin.

Bathed in gentle silver from the back and harsh white from the front, he picked up the phone.


	28. Chapter 5: Part 1- The King of Rock

The sun had almost risen to its peak as Eris exited the Gym, the battle inside having taken up the whole morning. He returned to the Pokémon Centre to obtain some much needed healing and think about his next step.

The obvious thing to do was return to Petalburg City to challenge his dad for the Balance Badge, but after the scare with Arnold he didn't think he was ready to face a stronger opponent just yet. This left the second, more preferable option of travelling into the desert and investigating those ruins. And while he was there he could train his Pokémon so as to be strong enough to face Norman.

As soon as his Pokémon were ready he headed out to the edge of the town. What would probably have been a couple of days travel down the rest of the mountain through the myriad of cave systems was immensely cut down by the fact that he could ride Arnold straight down the slopes to where he could see the military still breaking up the field camp and from there he could probably go over the tunnel and straight into the desert.

He'd just mounted his Lairon when his pocket began to buzz. He was unsurprised to see that Mr. Stone was calling him.

"You're going into the desert aren't you?" the man asked.

Eris was amazed that he hadn't conquered the world yet with that sort of omniscience. It was as though you didn't choose to do anything. Instead Mr. Stone decided you should do something and then you thought that it would be a good idea to do it.

"Of course" Eris replied making it sound like going into deserts was something he did all the time and it would be madness for him to do anything else so it wasn't that impressive that Mr. Stone knew he was doing it.

"_That is rather petty."_

"Shut it."

"Pardon Eris?"

"Sorry Mr. Stone. There was a… rock making some loud noises. All sorts of strange groans and rumbles. Anyway, what were you saying?"

"Sounds like a Geodude that hasn't been getting enough fibre lately. As to the reason I called, I wanted to warn you. If the King of Rock has indeed decided to settle on Route 111 in those ruins then there will a test or trial. According to another fragment the team was managed to decode, the King of Rock only responds to those who have proved they share his strength. It is likely that you may have a fight on your hands."

"It's nothing I haven't had before Mr. Stone, I assure you."

"I can't help but feel this may be more difficult that anything you will have faced before. I wish you luck all the same."

"Thank you Mr. Stone."

Eris slid the device shut, cutting off the call, and tapped his heels against Arnold's flanks, spurring him into motion and charging down the mountain.

High in the sky, unbeknownst to anyone on the ground, a second sun glided out of the path of the first. It dimmed and silently flew away back to the mountains in the northwest.

XXXXXX

Just as Eris had assumed, the ride down the mountain was an easy one, albeit slightly uncomfortable. It would have been more uncomfortable if Arnold's plated armour hadn't kept shifting to minimise the movement it experienced from the running.

He had had Arnold slow down to a walk as they reached the gently sloping plain that formed the base of the mountain on this side after he sensed him tiring. It meant they were more than likely going to have to camp at the tunnel or earlier, but that was preferable to camping in a sandstorm.

As he sat astride the Pokémon, the tiny clinks of metal intermingling with the heavy thumps of its feet hitting the ground, he reached into his jacket and slid the blood encrusted knife from Slateport out from the sheath. He'd completely forgotten about it, another sign that he'd been out of the game for too long.

He chipped some more of the blood off and ran his thumb down the blade absentmindedly. Something was bothering him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"_There's a blind spot somewhere. Find it!"_

Eris searched through his memory, tearing apart every piece of information he could to try and find the inconsistency. Talking to his dad, watching Wally catch the Ralts, then talking to Joe about- about something. The memory was fuzzy, it jumped around, words lost in the minute shifts of position during the conversation.

He pushed the concern to one side and continued searching. Petalburg Woods, Megan the courier, Mr. Stone- though there was always something strange about Mr. Stone- Roxanne, the cave, Mr. Briney's story- there was something concerning in there as well, but he didn't have enough pieces to find the missing ones- Slateport, Granite Cave, the Oceanic Museum, the Trick Master, May.

Was that it? Right after Igneous had played his first card, May appeared again. His battle with her had delayed his arrival in Mauville, and furthermore his arrival at Mt. Chimney the first time. The encounter with the Trick Master had done that as well though. Was it possible that they were both working for Magma?

It was a tenuous link, shattered in the case of the Trick Master. If he was really working for Magma surely he would have slain Eris while he slept? May required more investigating though.

Satisfied that he'd found the sources of his problem he pocketed the blade again and leant back against the metal spine, enjoying the rest of the ride in peace. He was so content that, for the first time, he didn't notice his father's voice from within the darkest recesses of his mind.

"_Fool. They're going right above your head, but you refuse to look up."_

XXXXXX

The steadily weakening dusk rays forced him to cover his eyes as he rode Arnold onto the plateau, the blue metal of the tunnel stretching away to either side with the dark yellow desert behind that. The ferocious storm still blew, yet none of the sand ever crossed beyond the tunnel. The construct seemed to form a line that should never be passed over if you knew what was good for you.

It could be argued that Eris didn't know what was good for him, and he decided that there was no point waiting until morning. With the evidence mounting that he truly didn't know what was good for him he reached behind him to where his backpack was held in place by two of the tighter spines, retrieved the Go-Goggles and put them on, covering the world in pale red. He then unbuttoned his coat and reached into the collar, pulling out thin grey cloth from within.

From the back it came up over his head, covering his ears and stopping just above his ears. From under his chin on either side it rose up, covering both cheeks, each side having a small slit in it. He closed the coat again and fed each piece of the cloth through the slits, covering his mouth and nose. Around his waist the Pokéballs pushed their way through specially cut slits in the coat as it was drawn tighter against them.

He clicked his heel against Arnold's flanks. As the powerful Pokémon shook itself from its short period of rest and started to move again Eris removed another Pokéball from his belt and sent out the small Swablu contained within. It flitted around, experiencing these new surroundings.

"So, Nimbus. Sorry I haven't been able to do this earlier. It's been quite hectic recently."

"Tweet" said Nimbus

"Um, okay. Well as soon as we get out of the desert I'll introduce you to the rest of the team."

"Chirp" uttered the Swablu

"And I'll, er, explain the situation to you. For now, just don't fly too far away from me."

"Squawk" the tiny blue Pokémon said as it landed on Eris' head and folded its wings.

"Do you even understand me?" Eris asked.

The wings unfolded and covered his ears before he heard a tiny whisper in his right.

"Of course I do" it said, before moving to his left ear.

"I'm just messing with you."

Eris was starting to get slightly annoyed with the Hoenn Region.

"Your wings can conduct sound?" he asked, eager to move the conversation away from the fact that a small bird had tricked him.

"Of course they can" Nimbus replied "They can also absorb it and emit it later."

Here Eris shook his head "That's just impossible."

"That's just impossible" the bird on his head repeated, almost as loud as Eris had said it.

"Fuck you Nimbus" he said, giving up and returning the Swablu to its Pokéball.

"Are you done?" Arnold asked from beneath him.

"Yes."

"Good" Arnold said, and stepped into the storm.

Eris looked around, confused. His vision was filled with red, and he couldn't feel Arnold between his legs anymore. He called out for his Lairon, his voice muffled by the cloth over his mouth but was met only by the roaring of the wind in his ears. He felt the sand beneath his feet shift slightly, and his hand went to his belt reflexively, gripping one of the Pokéballs there. Glancing at the ground, he noticed a small disturbance few feet away, tiny plumes of dust being forced into the air. He took a step back, and the ground fell away.

A cone of sand had vanished from beneath him, and he landed heavily on the side of the pit. The sand was being pulled towards the centre where a gaping maw was continually opening and closing, devouring the sand and anything borne along with it. As he slid down the rough surface towards the mouth, he saw a spiked sphere tumble past him and be wholly consumed.

A shadow flew over his head and crashed down into the centre of the pit, plugging the mouth and halting the flow of sand. Eris continued to slide down the slope, only stopping when his feet pressed up against Arnold's armour. The metal Pokémon shook his feet clear of the sand and replanted them on more stable ground, lifting his underbelly off of the closed, cracked jaws of the Pokémon situated at the centre of the pit. Even closed its mouth spanned a good four and a half feet, more than enough to easily swallow most things that would have fallen into it.

Eris felt the sand shift slightly again, and watched as the broken dome receded beneath the sand, the hole being quickly filled in with the material from the walls of the pit. Arnold slowly moved from his position, carefully ascending the slope by driving his feet deep into the sand to avoid sliding down. Eris followed as best as he could, jumping between the large holes left before they could be filled in again.

"Thanks for the save Arnold."

"Don't bring me out if it happens again. I hate sand. It gets stuck in all the little cracks" Arnold grunted back, dissolving into light a few seconds afterwards. The storm abated for a few seconds as he trudged his way through the looser sand around the edge of the pit and he heard a faint yet insistent beeping coming from his breast. Pulling out the PokéNav he saw a fierce, arrow shaped light flashing on the front piece, directing him south-east. Seeing no better option other than to follow it he put the device away and started to walk through the slowly solidifying sand as the storm picked up.

Despite being unable to see farther than a few feet away and with a horrendous headwind trying its best to deny him passage, it only took three course corrections and half an hour until the light on the PokéNav stopped blinking. The patch of sand, located on top of a rather large dune, might have been a slightly different colour from the others, but it was near impossible to tell through the lenses of the Go-Goggles.

He stood near to the patch and studied it hard, wondering whether or not he should interact with it in any way. He made the decision to stamp down on the patch and had raised his foot when a massive gust of wind and sand crashed into him, throwing him down the other side of the dune. Bouncing down the steep slope, throwing up plumes of sand with each strike, his world was turned into a rotating nightmare of red.

He reached the bottom, heavily disorientated, and lay there for a minute. It was only after he found the strength to stand up without wanting to vomit did he notice that the noise had faded to a dull background roar. Behind him the sandstorm abruptly cut off halfway up the sand dune. This pattern continued in a large circle, its centre located at a desolated ruin. Stonework had fallen away from the sides and lay in piles around the structure. A steadily crumbling pillar rose from each of the corners, each one branching out at the top into a number of smaller pillars with varying degrees of success.

One side of the ruin extended out into a canopy, and it was under this canopy that a multitude of tents were pitched. Eris started to walk towards the cluster of fabric when a small party emerged from one of the larger ones. He spotted the distinctive hair of Tabitha leading the group, comprised of a thin black man in a ruffled khaki shirt who kept taking his frameless glasses off and cleaning them, a very large man who was sweating profusely while he muttered to himself and drew on the pad he carried in his expansive arms, a faded green t-shirt covering his torso, and a gentle faced woman with tan skin covered by a hijab.

Their faces were streaked with dried tears.

"Hello Eris" Tabitha said sadly "Welcome to the Desert Ruin."

"Where're the rest of the research team?" he asked, pulling the hood down and unbuttoning his coat.

"We're all that's left of the research team" the black man replied, his voice starting to crack "A geneticist, a geologist, an artist and a paleocryptologist."

"How did they die?" Eris said tactlessly.

The black man opened his mouth, but no sound came out other than a strangled choking, leading the artist, who had stopped sketching for now, to take over.

"They went into the ruins to investigate one of the chambers inside. Me, Tabitha and Kieran were in the tent looking at some of the rocks. Ari was starting to decipher some of the writing in the entrance hall when she heard the screaming."

"As soon as I'd made it out a slab of rock stopped us going back in" Ari chimed, her voice containing a beautiful melodic quality even as she tried to hold back the tears.

"Did you manage to learn anything important?" Eris pressed, determined to obtain any knowledge he could in case it could help him.

Finally Tabitha spoke.

"The rocks are alive. They're a hive mind" she whispered, mortified.

"That seems bad, but it does mean that either it doesn't care we're here, or it wants us here" Eris observed "The question is what can we do about it?"

"I managed to work out some of the text before I ran out" Ari said "I think this King of Rock exists as a sort of totem in the centre of the ruin, and is something of a control centre for the hive mind. Maybe if you can destroy or capture that totem we can work out a way to harness its power."

"It's a start" Eris replied "I'll see what I can do."

He brushed past the four of them and walked into the cooling shade of the overhang. Curly symbols adorned the sides of the entrance way, now open once again, which dipped down into the earth and turned towards the dune he'd been stood on earlier. A subtle flicker of light was dashed across the curved wall, illuminating yet more intricate loops and whorls.

Inside the temperature steadily dropped as he progressed further down the stairwell, and the symbols on the walls shifted. New ones seemed to appear out of the rock as though they had a life of their own while others vanished when he wasn't looking at them. Curls turned into slashes, which then joined to become complex symbols before they twisted into recognisable pictures.

Before Eris knew he was starting to shiver slightly at the now dramatic temperature drop that was occurring inside the stonework, but as he turned a final bend in the staircase a fresh wave of heat swept over him. He had stepped into a dirty entrance hall, the carved symbols on the walls either side of the three doorways in front of him faded and chipped. The air would most likely have had a stale taste to it if the coppery tang of blood recently spilled wasn't present on it. As he observed the doorways he noticed that the two to the left and right seemed to be in the best condition, the torches embedded in the brackets next to them burning brightly and throwing light into the gloomy corridor.

In contrast, the doorway in front of him had cracks running through the framework of it, the torches flickered weakly and barely cast any light at all, the few symbols that were still barely visible were simple and clustered together randomly. It looked dejected and unwelcoming, causing people to ignore it and investigate one of the other two doorways, unwittingly walking to their death in the process.

Eris walked through the doorway.

The corridor bent back and forth repeatedly in an extremely short distance, reducing the light cast inside even more. By the time Eris could no longer see he felt the wall he'd had his hand on to guide himself vanish. It simply dissipated into the air, leaving behind a small pile of sand and a large opening. Thinking it unwise to investigate this new opening Eris carried on, hand placed on the opposite wall.

Soon enough that wall too vanished. He took another, more hesitant, step forwards and found his foot pressed down and kept going, sinking into what he had assumed to be solid rock. The rest of his body tumbled in after it, but as soon as he face hit the surface it parted ever so slightly, allowing him to breathe. He felt himself starting to turn vertical inside the rock as he was sucked down farther and farther. After a few minutes of this possibly slow process, for it was impossible to properly judge any distance travelled, he felt himself start to move forwards.

The rock in front of him parted and he was deposited into another corridor, though this one was a lot shorter and a lot brighter, torch light leaping up the small flight of stairs located at the end. Eris cautiously proceeded, wary of any more strange kinds of rock, testing the first few stairs with a light press. Rationalising that if anything had wanted to kill him it would have done so when he was being sucked through all the rock he threw caution to the wind and walked down the last steps normally, emerging onto the walkway of a giant cubic chamber that had, unbeknownst to him, a centre directly below a strangely coloured patch of sand on top of a large dune.

The walls were covered in esoteric drawings of various things, with a large chandelier blazing with light suspended above the centre of the cube where a flat expanse almost seemed to float in empty space. Beneath it was darkness, the light simply cutting out as if it refused to travel into the pit. At the end of the walkway, in the centre of the rock circle, stood a young woman, a half-smile on her face. She reached above her right shoulder and pulled the sword on her back from its scabbard with a metallic hiss. A small flick freed the rest of the blade from the metal sheath and she threw it down to the edge of the arena.

Eris took his bag off, setting it down just behind him, and laid his belt on top of it. His coat he wrapped around his left arm, giving him a slight portion of armour. It might slow him down, but the benefits it could be used for outweighed the small loss in mobility. He stepped of the walkway and onto the circular section, the rock dissolving away behind him. The moment he picked the sword up he heard a second hiss and a flash of reflected light caught his eye.

The woman lunged at him and he quickly side-stepped the point of the blade, bringing his own round to block the slash that followed. Two quick small leaps backwards kept him out of her range for the moment, but he had to be careful of her longer reach. She charged and brought her blade across in a scything swing aimed to decapitate. Once again the blades clashed, although Eris' was almost torn out of his hand by the force of the strike. His sword now forced down inside his guard for a moment she took the opportunity to swing back down, this time aimed at his torso. He brought his left arm up to guard against the blow, yet despite the large amount of padding around the arm he still felt the blade get cut through most of it.

He tried to pull his arm back and tear the weapon away from her, but it wouldn't move. The half-smile on her face grew and she swung her foot at his leg. He flicked his wrist and the sword moved into the path of the foot, the momentum of the kick carrying the sword clean through her ankle. Blood erupted out the wound and stained the floor, but she remained standing. She yanked her sword out of his coat and hopped back, spreading the crimson liquid across more of the rock floor, lowering the stump so that she leant to the side.

The two fighters circled each other, the woman now wary of her foe, Eris shaking a little bit of fabric loose from his ruined coat. Despite lacking a foot the woman was still fast as she ran at him again, her body open as she raised her sword above her head with both hands. He tried to lunge for her body, but she pushed off from her remaining foot and dodged sideways before she swung down. Eris was barely able to bring his sword back around to block the strike and needed to brace his covered hand against the flat of the blade to stop it the swing.

Even with a second hand adding additional force against the woman's swing he still heard a sickening crack and he collapsed, his weakened ankle having taken more than it could from the repeated blows. Laying on his side he saw the woman towering over him, sword poised to end his life. Desperately he swung his left arm at her, throwing the coat off of it and into her face.

She easily caught it and cast it aside, her face now almost disappointed, either that he'd lost, or that he would try such a cheap trick to prolong his life. What she didn't see as the coat had blocked her vision was the small knife he'd pulled out of the inner pocket, the small knife that was rotating hilt over blade towards her. With her sword still at her side and her right arm extended away from her to get rid of the coat, she had nothing to block the knife with and it buried itself into her trachea. Stunned by the strike Eris had managed to land, she was unable to stop him rising and hurling himself upwards towards the protruding hilt, grasping it and yanking it down through the rest of her neck and into her clavicle.

Blood shot out of the cut in torrents and she staggered back, dropping the sword with a clang. She fell over, unable to focus on maintaining her balance, and her head struck the edge of the arena, the sharp edge cracking her head open and sending blood and brain down into the darkness. The spurts of blood spewing from her neck slowed as her heart pushed it out of her body.

Eris saw the walkway reform and a new staircase appear digging its way through the rock back to the entrance hall. He felt imbued with a newfound strength and rose from the floor, picking his coat up as he went past it. With every step he took rock wrapped itself around his broken ankle, supporting it and pushing him onwards. He reached the staircase that had appeared and put his belt and beg back on, leaving the tattered coat to drag on the floor. He was about to start walking up the stairs when a rapid series of light flashes erupted from the pit, continually repeating. After the third set of flashes Eris understood and turned away, walking up the stairs as the flashes continued behind him. In the centre of the pit a patchwork stone golem grinded against itself as it shuddered into life, lifting one of its great arms formed from boulders and punching the ground, sending a tremor racing through the ground. It pulled the arm out, pulling a spherical chunk of rock with it, and settled back into a still position, its seven yellow eyes ceaselessly flicking on and off.

... . / .- ... - / ... .-.. .- -.- ... / - - -. ... - . .-. ... / -..- / - -.- .-. - .- . .-. / .. ... / ..-. .-. . . / .-.-.- / .. -. / - ... . / -. .-. . .- - / -... .- - - .-.. . / - - / -.-. - - . / .. / .- .. .-.. .-.. / -... . / .- - / -.- - ..- .-. / -.-. - - - .- -. -.. / .-.-.-

* * *

_**A/N: **I have one of the worst update schedules ever. Still, I'm happy with how this eventually turned out and the fact its out before January is over. I'll be re-uploading the first chapters with better paragraphing as well. Also, do you guys think this story should remain an M, or would it fit into T?_


	29. Chapter 5: Part 2- Return to Petalburg

The knock that pounded rhythmically at the door he recognised as Courtney's, and upon addressing her directly and opening the door he noticed in the reflection of his screen that she looked slightly shaken.

"What troubles you Courtney? The operation went well, did it not?"

"Yes sir. It was fine. It's just, how did you know it was me?"

"I'm afraid a man can't give away all his secrets Courtney. So tell me, how do you feel the operation went? Personally, not from a group perspective. I find that often leads to more utilitarian views on the subject matter."

'You might not want to tell all, but it'd be nice to at least know something' Courtney thought but wisely didn't say, instead saying "It went worse than I expected, but now I know the skill of the Slayer more or less. And at the very least I'm pretty sure we succeeded at the primary objective. It was bad losing Wally, and I'm worried that we haven't found him yet."

"You're worried for the King?" the voice from the chair interjected.

"Of course. It is only right to worry for the safety of the soon to be ruler" she replied hotly.

"I understand" he said calmly.

"Was there anything else you needed me for sir?"

"Yes. It is time to begin phase three and establish a more permanent base of operations. Have Igneous prepare a speech, and send word to Tabitha that I'll want some of the samples she'll invariably bring back with her from the desert, assuming our intelligence is correct."

"I will do sir. For the land!"

"For the land" he echoed, shutting the door and swivelling his chair back round to face the table after she left. Her walking pace was consistent, and she'd only come three and a half yards into the room. A person didn't need to say anything for him to begin to learn everything about them. Habits were very helpful.

He pressed on the table, and the front of it lit up the room in harsh white light. He navigated through a couple of directories and brought up a document filled with strange drawings and dense chunks of text. He scrolled quickly through the virtual pages, finally stopping on a section sparse in text, the page instead taken up by relatively simple contraptions.

Illuminated by the bright light, a smile matching his pallor appeared on his face as the phone rang.

XXXXXX

Eris came out of the ruins into the bright moonlight of the desert, seeing the faces of the four other members of the project peering anxiously out of the tent. As soon as they noticed him they rushed out of the fabric construct and began asking questions about what he had discovered.

He quietened them down, before calmly explaining that he'd found the totem, or at least what he assumed to be the totem, but they'd need climbing gear to access it.

"I suggest you take some of the sand and drawings of the markings back to your labs to analyse, and then come back after you've got a better idea what we're going to do with that totem."

"What about you?" Kieran asked, once again cleaning his glasses.

"I'm going to stay here for a little longer, do some training with my Pokémon" Eris replied "I've already taken the liberty of sending a message to our pilot to come pick us up, so I'd make those sketches quickly."

The four of them returned to the tent, emerging a moment later armed with sketchpads, cameras, storage bags and tubes, and a chisel. They rushed back into the ruins with fervour, their period of mourning for their comrades in intellect forgotten as they sought to gather as much information as they could.

Eris waited in the tent.

It didn't seem long until the familiar whump of the helicopter echoed through the air and touched down near to the tent, starting the cloth walls flapping. Eris waited until the rotors had stopped before he came out of the tent, bringing with him the gear that the group had left and loading it into the bay. He was about halfway through putting the tent down when the four emerged from the ruins and Mak, whose name he'd worked out from their bags, helped him with the rest of it.

That too was loaded into the helicopter's bay and Tabitha, Mak, Ari and Kieran climbed in after they'd said their goodbyes. Eris stood in the shade of the overhang as he watched the machine rise back up into the air and turn into a slowly diminishing black spot against the bright sky. He picked his ruined coat back up and put it on, assessing the damage.

One of the arms had been cut clean through, leaving the better part of the skin exposed to the elements. Gashes, both minor and major, were dotted across the main body, mostly down the back, and a couple of the pockets had been compromised. His TM case had been relocated into a free pocket of his bag and his phone was stored in his trousers.

He flexed his ankle, wondering when and how it found the time to completely heal itself without his noticing, as he pulled his phone out. The PokéNav was presumably on some national database, and anyone who could obtain access to it would have been able to contact him through that. What was concerning was that the message had come through on his phone, which very few people should have the contact number for.

The message had been received as he was starting to pack the tent up, and contained latitude and longitude coordinates which he now put into his PokéNav. As he started to walk towards the location they marked he called Mr. Stone to report his findings in more accurate detail than what he'd told the rest of the Project Royal team.

"Eris my boy, why the call? Are you not on your way back with the rest of the team currently?"

"No Mr. Stone. I decided to stay a little longer. However, I felt it prudent to inform you of the events that have transpired before the others. I omitted some of the details to... improve listening."

"Do go on" Charlie said, almost sounding slightly amused.

"The test was a fight, as you predicted. I had to duel this woman, some of guardian I believe. She was absurdly strong, as though she'd been augmented in some way. I cut off her foot and she kept standing like it was nothing. She was protecting the King of Rock, or at least testing people to see if they were worthy of its power, since I couldn't see anything below the pit until she was dead."

"So there isn't a guardian anymore?"

"No, but it seemed like the King of Rock was doing a pretty good job of guarding itself. Still, I recommend a small defensive force protects the ruins from any unsavoury persons."

"I shall take a look at the analysis of the items the team is presumably returning with and consider your recommendation. Information we have on the other Kings will be sent to you the moment we have access to it."

"Thank you sir. Good bye."

Eris terminated the call and checked his bearings a second time, soon arriving at the marked location. His PokéNav pinged as it received a news update, but he ignored it while he grabbed the shovel that had been left.

Underneath the sand a small metal canister had been placed, a flash drive stored inside. He plugged the drive into the port on his PokéNav, his eyes briefly glancing at the ticker tape that read 'Petalburg City'. Dismissing it as the folder appeared, he began scrolling through the data.

A large proportion of it provided information he already had access to, and he had suspected that there might have been a second Admin below Igneous. It seemed that there were recruitment drives taking place in the major cities, and they had a large scientific division for some reason. To finish, the file provided details of two major operations.

The Mt. Chimney operation was marked as resolved and its primary objective had been to sow fear. It appeared as though they had planned to cause a controlled eruption as a show of strength and deal a massive blow to military forces.

The second operation caused a sharp intake of breath and his blood ran cold, his eyes shooting to the ticker tape that still scrolled across the bottom of the screen.

'Gang warfare breaks out in Petalburg City'

He shut the device and ran.

XXXXXX

Two days later he stumbled up to the border of Petalburg City, hungry, tired and seriously pissed. All the food he'd carried with him was gone, along with what he'd managed to steal while he passed through Slateport, his coat was even more ruined than it had been, and he'd only slept for four hours. They'd locked down all the city entrances, but it's difficult to stop a sleeping person riding on a fast moving half tonne of metal. Fortunately Mr. Briney had been in Slateport at the time and understood why Eris wanted to get back to Petalburg, his craft being well known enough to be let straight through the beginnings of a naval blockade.

Arnold was tired out from all the running he'd been doing, and his armour was badly scratched and dented from all the barriers he'd been breaking through. Currently resting in his Pokéball, Eris didn't know how long it'd be before he was able to fight.

Collapsing in view of the border guards got him hurried into the nearest available house and given food and a place to sleep for the few hours he'd need to get back to the semblance of full strength he theorised he'd need.

With the first light starting to break through the window he climbed out of the bed, raided the pantry to resupply and climbed out of the window, slipping away into the alleyways of the city determined to find Vigoroth. The leaders of the gangs had their names revoked upon assuming leadership, in order to stop the gang being led by someone called Drunk John or Lightning Larry.

Seeing a nearby fire escape, he climbed on top of a dumpster and jumped off, kicking against the wall to gain a little extra height and drag the ladder down. Once on the roof he listened for the crackle of automatic weaponry and started towards the sound, thankful for the high density of this part of the city.

As he got closer he realised that the battle he was headed towards was being fought over multiple streets and that the building he was standing on top of was being used by gang members as a sniper nest. A figure noiselessly leapt over from the building opposite and winked at him before securing a gas mask around his face and drawing what Eris recognised as a GAP, or Gengar Auto Pistol, known for having an above average rate of fire and being easily concealed.

He threw a grenade of some sort through the open window. Panicked cries floated out of the window, and the figure leant over the edge and swung himself through the window, the cries being replaced with choking and sporadic pops of gunfire. Eris looked back down into the street and saw a swarm of people running across the street, discharging submachine guns and other small arms at the base of the building and the alleys on either side.

He dashed to the other edges of the building, looking for any other open windows. As he reached the side he had come from he saw a male, probably in his late teens, jump out of a window onto the opposite roof. Eris jumped the gap and tackled the man onto the rough asphalt. He struggled against the body on top of him until Eris drove a knee between his shoulder blades and pinned his arms.

"Brawler or Runner?" Eris asked.

"Please don't kill me" the male cried as he squirmed under Eris "I only joined the gang to help my fam- Brawler!" he screamed as Eris ground his knee further into the man's spine.

"Do you know where Vigoroth is?" Eris continued conversationally, relieving the pressure he was exerting slightly.

"North side, leading an attack on Runner headquarters. Please let me go" the man begged.

Eris let him up and turned around, spotting the gas masked figure too late.

"Get down!" he called, but the trigger had already been pulled.

The young male was just about to make the jump when the bullet hit him in the lower back. He faltered and seemed to hang in the air for a moment, before plummeting to the street below. The figure shifted the muzzle to kill Eris as well before something in the building startled him and he turned around, swinging the gun around as well.

Eris took the opportunity to hurl himself through the window into the building, colliding with the figure and sending him sprawling to the ground. The gun clattered away to the other side of the room and Eris launched himself off of the figure, shedding his backpack, scooping the gun up and rolling to his feet to see the figure advancing towards him.

Eris kicked high with his left foot, the figure blocking the blows with his arm. He dropped the foot back to floor and brought his right around low, sweeping the figures legs out and landing him heavily on his back. He rolled to the side and levered himself up, turning sideways and spreading his legs, arms raised in defence.

Eris rushed at him and he swung a left hook, opening up his body as he did so. Eris dropped, sliding through the accessible gap and swinging the gun up as he came through and loosing one shot into the figure's back. The man screamed and convulsed, dropping to the floor. Eris frisked him as fast as he could, taking all the ammo and a radio, before dragging him towards the gap at the back of the room, the surrounding wall having been knocked out to fit more gun barrels in the gap.

"There are some people you really shouldn't kill" Eris whispered in his ear as he rolled him out into air.

"_Ha! Listen to the child. Giving out _wise advice_ he could use himself."_

"You were never one of those people."

Eris took the easy path down to the street, the Runner members who'd swarmed across now fighting on the other side, and began rotating the dial on the radio, listening in on police broadcasts for any information. He eventually stumbled across the frequency that the Brawler's were using to communicate.

"_Hook Team reporting. Prince Street clear of Runners. Setting up safehouse."_

"_Jab Team reporting. Runners have us pinned over on Clearview. Requesting backup."_

"_Uppercut Team reporting. Ceasefire called on Westcliff. Runners asking for a truce and parlay. Decision?"_

"_Vigoroth here. Runner headquarters was clear. Backup is heading your way Jab. Uppercut, hold out on that parlay until I get there."_

Eris clipped the radio to his belt and got his bike out, speeding northwards towards Westcliff Boulevard. He heard sirens rent the air and saw a fierce orange glow with stacks of smoke rising above it to the east, fire fighters racing to the scene despite the danger the streets posed.

He heard a commotion coming from a street ahead of him and he slowed down. Peering around the corner he saw a mob of people smashing shop windows and grabbing everything they could. A police car screeched around the corner and some of the looters threw bottles filled with a viscous liquid at it. It swiftly braked and the officers inside hurled themselves out of the vehicle and running for cover in one of the previously looted stores.

Most of the bottles struck the ground in front of the car or off to the side, splashing the liquid across the concrete and igniting it, but one sailed straight through the windshield. One of the officers blanched as the interior of the car melted, while the other one fired their stun gun, dropping one of the looters with the shock.

Leaving the officers to do their jobs Eris continued towards the meeting.

"_Aren't you supposed to help them boy? Isn't that one of the things you're doing to redeem yourself, to wash your hands?"_

"Business comes first."

"_Good to see you haven't forgotten everything_ _I spent so much time and effort teaching you. Now hurry up! I've seen a seventy year old blind woman without legs move faster than you, you retarded sack of shit!"_

Eris remembered being told the story and thought that his father was embellishing it slightly.

"_Don't contradict me you insolent little bastard or I will find a way to beat you from in here!"_

Eris stopped thinking.

He kept checking the frequencies on the radio, making sure he had accurate information of Brawler and Runner movements, until he reached Pentridge Road, one of the streets that fed Westcliff. He scaled another building and moved across until he had a good view of where the discussion was going to take place. He thought he saw a dark shape flitting between the trees that lined the centre of the road, but could see nothing in the trees and dismissed it.

Eris had arrived knowing that Vigoroth was at least two streets away when he'd made it to Pentridge, and he used the time to study the Runners and Brawlers that were gathered holding opposing positions on either side of the tree line. In each group he noticed a couple of members who had strategically placed red splashes dotted around their clothing, too small to be noticed on an enemy in the heat of battle, but easily spotted if you were looking for it.

From one of the side streets Vigoroth emerged with his entourage, leaving them with the main group and stepping forwards. His jet black hair was slicked back, and his vest and jeans were ripped and stained with blood. Slung over one shoulder was a thick assault rifle that effectively did double duty as a club. Strapped to his right thigh was a large revolver, and a beer bottle was strapped to the other. He unslung the rifle and tossed it to his feet, carefully placing the revolver and bottle down next to it.

"I am Vigoroth!" he bellowed "I accept the terms of the truce. Where is Linoone?"

The man that stepped forward had a scrawny face and a permanent windswept appearance. His ginger hair stuck up in random tufts on his head and the beginnings of a beard seemed to grow back up his cheeks. He wore a close fitting- but not tight- creamy brown top that covered his arms and cargo shorts of the same colour. On his hands he wore fingerless dark brown gloves and his white trainers were scuffed and marred with grime. Attached to his upper arms were lightweight ice picks, which he removed and laid at his feet, doing the same with a small pistol that he pulled from his waistband.

"I am Linoone" he said rapidly "Let us talk Vigoroth."

The two men met underneath one of the trees and set out rapidly discussing terms in hushed whispers and quiet but angry remarks. Though he was unable to hear what they were saying Eris kept his eyes open for trouble.

As it turned out he was looking in the wrong direction. From behind him he heard the door to the roof open, and he whirled round to find a Team Magma Grunt standing in the doorway, a rifle loosely held across his chest, looking shocked that there was someone else on the roof.

Acting instinctively, Eris drew the sidearm he had appropriated and jammed his finger down onto the trigger. Blood blossomed from the chest and neck of the Grunt as the gun recoiled more than Eris had expected until the hammer clicked down onto an empty chamber and he ejected the magazine, replacing it with a new one from his pocket quickly, scanning the nearby buildings for additional threats.

Down in the street a withering wave of firepower smashed into Vigoroth and Linoone as both sides opened up, each believing the gunshots to have come from the other gang. Eris looked on in dismay as his radio burst into life with calls for revenge and he failed to notice the small flicker retreating down the tree line, or the giant green lizard that shot out of the sky and grabbed him with its talons, lifting him away from the fight and over to the roof of an apartment complex that bordered the Gym.

Standing on the roof was Norman, looking out over the city.

"Hey Dad" Eris said sheepishly, suddenly anxious.

"Hello Eris. You really should call more. Your mother and I would appreciate it."

"You went without me for twelve years. What're a few weeks on the road compared to that?"

Norman turned away from the edge of the building, a small smile on his face but sadness in his eyes.

"Therein lies the problem. I don't suppose I'll ever make you understand, but your mother and I worry about you. To sire a child and then not raise them for twelve years because they were kidnapped is painful beyond anything I've ever experienced."

"But –" Eris tried to counter, but was cut off by a grizzled old man who clambered off the lizard.

"Come off it lad. Yer Ma ant Pa were damn near inconsolable with grief when they foundt out you was missin'. Phoebe ant Sidney spent a lot o' time lookin' fer yer, but Orre's a finicky place at best o' times, ant downright asshole country at worst. No offence meant ta you o' course."

His right arm was non-existent, having been taken off at the shoulder along with a small chunk of the shoulder itself. His right leg had met a similar fate, but had been replaced with a sturdy wooden prosthetic that hit the ground with a solid left eye was a milky white, a vivid jagged scar running through the centre of it. Around his face was short grey stubble and atop his head he wore a captain's hat. The blue jacket he wore was unbuttoned and he was shirtless, revealing toned abdominal muscles and a pale scar running across his midriff. Peeking round from both sides and probably extending all the way around his back was burnt flesh that had long since healed.

"None taken" Eris said "But who are you? And can't you get better prosthetics?"

"Drake's the name lad. Toughest member o' the Elite Four, ant ah lead the Air Force when ahm not busy. As fer the injuries ant suchlike, there sentimental. Ah keep the prosthetics ah got cause there all ah could get."

He looked at the injuries as he reminisced about how he obtained them.

"Mah arm ant leg were taken by Ol' Bert here when ah was exploring the desert with Capt'an Briney. Used ta be pirates when we was young uns, though we preferred treasure hunters. Ah fell in his sand trap ant he bit clean through me arm. Briney dragged me out o' there, but afore we were clear of the sand he returned ant took me leg. Still managed ta catch the blighter. Now he's one o' the fastest in the fleet. Twas too late ta do anything for me arm, Trapinch bile had destroyed the nerves, but we managed ta clean me leg and get a carpenter ta make me a new one."

"What about the scars?" Eris asked, curious as to why he was showing them.

"Mah first Pokémon. Afore ah hit the seas ah already had a taste fer danger and adventuring, ant ah went into one o' the deeper caverns of Meteor Falls ant found me a Bagon. Feisty little bugger he were, cried the place down. Got him ta like me eventually, but no' afore his mother had come after me and torched me something good. Though he musta still harboured some resentment, since he wen' ant slashed me open soon as he evolved. Wen' after another one a few months back who took me eye. Can't wait ta see what he does when he's out o' the Shelgon phase."

"You two might what to listen to this" Norman cut in, turning the volume on the radio he'd been paying close attention to.

"People of the Hoenn Region, I am Igneous. I speak to you now from Petalburg City, currently consumed with gang violence. I am sure some of you are decrying me as I speak, but I ask that you hold your tongue briefly. Some of you will call Team Magma terrorists, an evil group dedicated to committing evil acts, citing the murder of Rear Admiral Shelly as one of those acts. Those people are wrong. We simply seek to make the world a better place for the future generation, to preserve it for those who are to come. Anything we may do is for the best in the long run. Our members are your people, your family, your friends. Those who understand the danger that we face if we are to continue living as we are, and who understand that there is no such thing as good and evil when dealing with the future. Our actions will be judged by those to come, not those who are here."

"Today we were in Petalburg City recruiting when the violence broke out. Our members and their families have suffered just as the residents of Petalburg have suffered. To make matters worse, the chief of police was killed when the station was firebombed, the military has thus far refused to deal with the problem and Gym Leader Norman had vanished. This is why I now ask of you, Steven Stone, to turn the city over to Team Magma. We will give the residents one hour to gather their possessions and flee the city if they so choose."

"After that hour Team Magma will take to the streets with extreme prejudice to clean up the threat that you have let run rampant. Anyone who would wish to be spared should dress in red and pledge their allegiance to Team Magma. If you choose to agree, any military interference shall be viewed as a breach of our agreement, and the consequences will be severe. I give you thirty minutes to make your decision before we make the decision ourselves."

The radio broadcast cut out, leaving behind a low pitched whine.

"Steven would never hand the city o'er" Drake snorted "The guy's a madman. Sidney told me his guys firebombed the station and executed the chief when he fled."

Now Norman spoke.

"Ready the fleet Drake. Steven should recognise the danger. If he doesn't hand the city over they'll take it by force. He'll give the citizens the most time he can get for them to evacuate, and he'll need the fleet to get them out faster. We can always take it back afterwards."

"Wha' about you?" Drake asked as he climbed back onto the green lizard, Bert.

"I'll leave when the time is right. Besides, right now I owe Eris something important."

Bert started to vibrate his massive wings, sending waves of force into Norman and Eris. He lifted his legs and hovered for a moment before shooting off into the sky, his tail whipping around behind him.

Norman turned to Eris.

"I'm guessing you came back because of Team Magma, and I won't try and guess how you got information that they were in the city, but I get the feeling you were coming back anyway. As promised, I will battle you for the Balance Badge. There seems no better time than when my city is teetering on a brink. It's time to prove if you have the skill to balance offense and defence."

"I won't hold back you know" Eris said, grinning.

"I wouldn't want it any other way. Let's go Slaking!" Norman roared.

* * *

**_A/N: _**_Next time, Eris battles Norman and a decision is reached regarding Team Magma's ultimatum._


	30. Chapter 5: Part 3- Norman

The hulking Pokémon that appeared from the ball Norman threw covered a quarter of the roof as it lay on its side, the brown hair that covered most of its body neatly groomed. It scratched the lighter fur covering its stomach as it studied Eris from under its heavy jutting brow. Its hand moved up towards the ruff of fur around its neck and fished through it, searching for food, but came out empty.

_Slaking- The Lazy Pokémon. Much like its Kantonian counterpart Snorlax, Slaking is one of the world's laziest Pokémon. It will spend every day lying in a spot and consuming every foodstuff within arm's reach. It has the ability to alter the rate at which its body processes food, often keeping it as low as possible to increase the amount of time they can stay in their chosen location. Despite this unwillingness to move, whenever fruits that it enjoys begin to bloom it will move towards the nearest available blooming tree or bush and wait for the ripe fruit to fall. This time is also mating season for Slaking, causing fights that can last days to erupt around the trees. These fights are different to typical contests of strength as each Slaking attempts to attack while the other is resting, often leading to the most cunning members to claim victory. Studies performed on Slaking involved in mating fights across the generations have shown that the immense strength of the attacks results in a reshaping of the fat deposits that is then passed onto offspring._

Eris studied the data his Pokédex provided, and reluctantly unclipped Arnold's Pokéball from his belt, thinking that he was the only one capable of taking hits from the Slaking. The steel-clad Pokémon emerged from the ball, wincing slightly as one of his feet hit the ground.

"Let's finish this quickly Arnold. Take Down."

Arnold shook his body, loosening some plates and locking others in place, before extending his claws from his feet and digging into the roof of the building, propelling himself forwards. As he neared the Slaking Norman yelled.

"Feint Attack!"

The great paw rose from the stomach of the ape-like creature and moved rapidly, punching Arnold square in the head. Clangs echoed from Arnold as the metal plates struck against each other, dissipating the force of the blow, and he stopped dead straining against the heavy fist. He bowed his head slightly and whipped it back up, throwing the fist into the air off to the side and renewed his charge. He hit a large fatty deposit on the Slaking and sent its skin rippling as its arm crashed down next to him.

The Slaking slowly closed its eyes and its head slumped slightly as it recovered the exerted energy, leaving it open to another attack. Arnold took the opportunity and slashed at it with his claws, drawing blood.

Wakened by the pain Slaking lashed out and smacked one of Arnold's side plates, the angle knocking him to the side slightly. He swung his tail in retaliation but missed, forcing him to dig his claws into the roof again to avoid flying off from the inertia. Having attacked again so quickly Slaking had run out of energy and it slumped, its chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

"Arnold, use Iron Tail near those cuts" Eris said.

Arnold responded by shaking his body a second time, the plates around his tail locking. He retracted his claws and rushed forwards again, only to extend the claws on his right foreleg and grasp the ground, his momentum whipping his hindquarters and tail round with monstrous force that ploughed into the Slaking's stomach. Fat visibly shifted from the point of impact and, finding the area with the least resistance, erupted out of the previously made cuts.

Arnold used the rebound from the blow to carry himself back away from the Slaking, but as he landed his hind legs shook slightly from tiredness. Norman stood grim faced behind Slaking, assessing the situation.

"Yawn" he said.

Slaking opened its mouth and breathed heavily over towards Eris and Arnold. The gentle breeze that had been moving across the roof top stopped as though aiding the Gym Leader, and Eris breathed deeply and covered his mouth and nose. Unable to avoid the spread of the Slaking's chemical laden breath, Arnold inhaled them and grew drowsy. He started to close his eyes and relaxed his legs, falling forwards until Eris barked at him from behind his hand.

"Iron Tail!"

Arnold's eyes snapped open as the shout pushed urgency into his limbs and he rose, leaping at the Slaking, bounding over the slippery surface and smashed his tail into the Pokémon's stomach a second time, rolling it over onto its back and knocking it out completely.

Norman returned the Pokémon to its ball and sent another of its kind out in its place. This one stood tall instead of lying on its side, and a fierce determination blazed out of its face as it focused its large eyes on Arnold. Before he could succumb to the chemicals in his body, Eris returned Arnold and replaced him with Aurelia, hoping that her speed would be enough to dodge Slaking's attacks as she slowly wore it down.

As soon as her golden fur appeared the Slaking locked its eyes onto her.

"Focus Punch" Norman told Slaking.

"Dodge it Aurelia!" Eris yelled.

The Linoone bolted away to the edge of the roof as far away from the Slaking as she could, but before she could move again it bent its knees and jumped, moving absurdly fast for something of its size. It barrelled through the air and bore down on her, its gargantuan fist coming round and powered into her side.

Eris heard something snap in the brief moment before her limp body was thrown off the roof, spiralling away over the city and dropping out of sight.

A terrible pain tore through his head and heart as he fell to his knees, letting loose a primal scream that ripped through the sky. Thoughts of Aurelia flashed through his mind as he was overcome with grief, tears streaming from his eyes and darkening the concrete beneath him.

"Oh gods" Norman whispered, shocked at what had just occurred, "Eris-"

"Shut up" Eris growled from behind his hands. They started to curl, his fingernails digging into his forehead, and they shook with rage.

"She was more than a Pokémon. She was a friend, a partner" he said as he started to stand, the burning anger flooding his body supressing the mental and emotional pain that ripped him apart.

"She was a part of me!" he snarled, his face twisting and his body shaking. He unthinkingly grabbed Arnold's Pokéball off his belt and sent the damaged Pokémon out to do battle once more.

Being in the capsule had purged the sleep inducing chemicals from his system, but he was still fatigued and almost collapsed as soon as he appeared. Ignoring the pressure on his brain, Eris noticed the Slaking was breathing heavily, its arms loosely hung at its sides.

"Mud Slap" Eris snapped.

Despite there being no mud around to throw, Arnold managed to improvise by raking the concrete of the roof and flinging the splinters into the Slaking's eyes. Too tired to block the tiny pieces of rock, they struck the soft tissue and made miniscule lacerations. Seeing its head swivel to where Arnold was and its eyes narrow, Eris ordered another volley that broke its focus.

Once more defenceless for a few seconds, Eris yelled for a Take Down to actually do some damage to the beast. Spurred on by Eris' sheer force of will, and fearing for his life should he fail, Arnold charged and thrust his head into the Slaking's upper legs, merely pushing it back a step.

He followed it up with a third volley of concrete chips to distract the beast before swinging his tail around, though he misjudged the distance and ended up brushing against his opponent's knees. Spotting the effectiveness and safety in the strategy Eris ordered Arnold to repeat it, and the second tail swipe connected, dropping the Slaking onto one knee.

Norman reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a soft purple capsule, throwing it at his Slaking. It burst when it hit the Pokémon's face, the liquid swiftly diffusing through the skin. The small beads of blood that were appearing in its eyes crusted and fell out alongside the shards of concrete embedded in them as the Potion massively accelerated the cell regeneration.

Angered further by having his attempts undone Eris screamed at Arnold, "Do it again!"

Arnold threw himself into the routine a second time, now less fearful of his opponent than he was of his Trainer. He pushed himself closer and closer to the limit of his endurance, the pattern repeating for a third time after Norman threw a second Hyper Potion at his Slaking.

The low static drone that had been underlining the entire fight was suddenly replaced by the sound of Steven's voice as he connected to the emergency radio channel.

"Igneous, I have reached a decision. I will turn the city over to your troops to clean the streets, if you allow Hoenn's fleet to aid in the hour evacuation of the city. After that they will withdraw from the area permanently."

"I find your terms acceptable Steven. I thank you for your co-operation" Igneous replied, "The fleet may enter the city for up to one hour from now."

Around Norman and Eris a great fluttering filled the skies as birds and dragons filled the air and swooped down onto the streets, before rising with more passengers on their back or clutched in their talons. Ignoring it all, Arnold kept hammering into Slaking mercilessly to satisfy Eris.

Finally Norman rifled through his pockets and came out empty. Arnold stood shakily in front of the Slaking after delivering a crippling Iron Tail that had brought it crashing down onto its face. He wearily raised a leg; claws extended, and let it drop into the Slaking's neck at Eris' insistence. Gravity drove the sharpened metal easily through the muscle and nerve, nicking bone as it passed through from one side to the other. Fibres were dragged out as they caught on his foot, staining the roof.

Norman returned the Slaking before any more damage could be done and sent his Vigoroth onto the grisly scene. The white haired Pokémon inhaled the scent of the blood splattered on the ground and started pounding its feet into the concrete, its twin clawed paws swiping the air as it howled at the sky.

It dashed at Arnold and batted him with a paw before he could react. Staying in front of him, the Vigoroth continued to swing even as Arnold drove his head into its torso. Thrown back by the attack, it spun in the air and flipped off its paws, landing back on its feet before rushing at Arnold, baying all the while.

It jumped on his armour and smacked rapidly smacked his sides, clinking every time his claws connected, searching for chinks to get at the soft insides. Arnold bucked violently and launched the Vigoroth off of him, before rearing up on his hind legs and flicking his claws out, tearing deep gashes through the Pokémon's torso.

It crashed down at Norman's feet, bleeding profusely, and he quickly returned it to its ball to stymie the blood loss. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the sun glinting off of a circling creature that began to descend towards the rooftop.

"Though you managed to best my Pokémon, I feel you are not worthy of the Balance Badge. I understand your grief, but you let your emotions get the better of you, and attempting to slay one of my own Pokémon cannot be justified" Norman said with disappointment, "You even pushed another of your partners far beyond where he would be expected to normally go, so far that he almost suffered the same fate as your Linoone."

"He did his job avenging Aurelia, just not well enough. An eye for an eye Norman" Eris snapped, his anger dissipating, his grief returning.

"That philosophy leads to blindness the world over."

"At least then we wouldn't have to see the bodies of the fallen and those who murdered them."

Their dialogue would've continued had Steven's Skarmory not touched down, its metal wings buzzing with the sounds of chainsaws.

"The people have been evacuated. We've got five minutes until the deadline. Hop on" he said, not noticing the animosity between the two.

"I'm not going anywhere with him" Eris said, his voice shaky.

Norman reached into his other pocket and pulled out a small grey piece of metal and two discs, one dulled white, the other bright blue. He tossed them all to Steven, who expertly caught them, looking at him quizzically.

"I know when I'm not wanted Steven. Get Eris out of here and give those to him when he's ready. I'll stay and observe Team Magma's movements within the city."

"We had far fewer people evacuated than we thought we would have done. They might be willingly joining Team Magma, but they might be being forced. I'll come back for you" Steven explained, "Get on Eris."

Placing his foot in a specially formed contour in the otherwise seamless body of metal, Eris hoisted himself up behind Steven in a small dip just behind the neck, his foot brushing against the smooth front of the wing. Behind the guard the sharp metal started to vibrate rapidly, and the Skarmory lifted its legs off the ground, folding them into a recess on its underside. The wings picked up more speed and they rose higher before flying away to the Littleroot Town.

"Your mother's busy helping Phoebe currently, but I felt you might want to get some rest at home before heading back out. And maybe get a better coat. That one's a little roughed up" Steven shouted over the buzzing of the wings.

"Thanks Steven" Eris said as he watched the smoke rising from Petalburg behind them. The Skarmory covered the distance swiftly and Eris slid off its back once the wings had calmed down to a light hum.

Taking the spare key from behind the plaque bearing the house's number, Eris unlocked the door and disabled the alarm. Going into the kitchen he retrieved a myriad of vegetables and meats from the fridge and set about making a meal.

By the time he'd finished cooking and eating he noticed that the hour allotted for the evacuation had long since passed, and he got his PokéNav out to listen in on the military channel.

"_-man is still in the city. E4 ant the surroundin' squares are off limits. Repeat, if any o' yer drop so much as a hair there ah will beat yer ass into next week and discharge yer from mah force. Q12 is where we think Igneous is hiding. Nah rain hell ont those bastards."_

The channel went silent for the next few minutes as the fleet took off and flew into position over Petalburg City. Eris went upstairs and began methodically transferring the contents of his backpack into a new coat, ignoring the conspicuous weight difference around his waist. Just as he was finishing the radio flared into life again, a woman's voice coming out of the speakers.

"_Sir, the bombs haven't exploded. They're just hanging above the streets."_

"_I'm seeing that too sir."_

"_Same here."_

"_Uh, they were doing that, but now they're rising."_

"_Pull back. Ah don't wan' anyone still in the airspace in the next thirty seconds. Ah don't like the sound of them bombs goin' the wrong way."_

The radio attached to his clock turned itself on as the emergency broadcast channel was reactivated. From both the speaker on the device in his hand and the one on his desk, Igneous' voice emanated.

"_People of the Hoenn Region. Regular citizens, supporters of our cause, detractors of our cause, servicemen and women. I am sure that you are aware that Steven Stone handed the city of Petalburg over to Team Magma so that we may do that he and his military would not under the condition that he would not insert forces into it after giving it to us."_

" _What you may not be aware of, unless you are one of those who are still in Petalburg or one of those who left, is that he recently broke this truce and began dropping explosive devices onto the city in an attempt to weaken our hold on it and kill me, with the intention to retake it shortly afterwards. What they are now shocked to discover is that they cannot carry out such an atrocity. We are protected. However, in response to this breaking of our truce our protector is demonstrating what happens to those who break agreements and stand against us. If you would, please turn your televisions to channel three."_

Eris snatched up the remote and jammed his finger on the button. A wide shot of Petalburg filled the screen, small black shapes gently floating into view above the buildings.

"_The objects you see rising over the city are the bombs your military forces wished to drop upon us. They were specifically targeted away from one area of the city, where Gym Leader Norman is currently. He had not made the decision to join Team Magma and was instead providing information to the military, further breaking our truce."_

The screen split into two; one showed a small block of flats, the other showed Norman's Gym.

"_This day, Team Magma has four messages. First, for the common people of Hoenn, your military and police cannot be trusted. They are corrupt, and will further their own goals over the good of the populace, which is why we shall start today by removing from this city the symbol of their oppression. Second, for the leaders of the military, know now that you cannot fight Team Magma as easily as you thought. We will persevere and fight back against your ill judgement. Third, for a young man who I have no doubt is fixated on his television currently, a young man who has committed atrocities against uncountable numbers of people and who has slain our own members. Of you, Slayer, we ask that you interfere with our plans no more. And finally, I bring a message from a friend of mine, intended for the young man I have previously mentioned."_

The bombs moved into position over the Gym and the block of flats.

"_Payback's a bitch."_

The screen filled with fire, and suddenly the house seemed emptier.


End file.
